Beautifully Dark Places
by Starwhisker of Thunderclan
Summary: I was so tired of my life. All I wanted was something good to happen to me. Just once. Suddenly, a sharp pain burst through my entire body. It felt I was going to explode, and then pop. I was sure I had died, but then I heard: "Uh… That's not a troll, Nolan." New Chapter up you guys!
1. The Ugly Duckling

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 1**  
**_The Ugly Duckling_

__A little introduction 

It was a usual dreary November morning in the sleepy town of Oakbridge, Ohio. The normal sound of the neighbor's two Labradors howling at a quickly disappearing moon was the only sound on Second Street, apart from Mr. Jones's old Volkswagen roaring to life down the road. In a small, white house on the corner lived Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, with their two sons and two daughters. Their youngest daughter, Kymma, is a particularly interesting young women. At the age of sixteen, she had managed to be expelled twice, kicked off the math team, and fired from her job at the concession stand. Kymma could argue that she hadn't done drugs, drank, or any of the other things that T.V. had stereotyped a teen her age to do, but she had a reputation to uphold. The reputation of a screen worthy family, being that her older—and much more beautiful—sister had starred in two movies and won a Grammy by the age of twenty. The family did not dare tarnish their 'star's' rep. But, after being teased for years about her imperfect hair and blemished skin, it became Kymma's goal to be the opposite of her goody-two-shoes sister.

* * *

"Kymma! Get up!" I sighed as I flung the covers off of me. Once again, my mother was sentencing me to another day in that prison. I grabbed the first wearable dirty T-shirt I found and threw on some jeans. I honestly couldn't care less what kind of clothes I wore. I trudged downstairs, past my little brother, and to a waiting piece of toast. Mom asked some questions, which I ignored, and preceded out the door on my usual route to school. I didn't have time for my mother, especially if she only had time for my sister.

The first few minutes were rather uneventful, a few dogs barked at me, a squirrel did something that sounded like a hiss when I walked past it, but no one jumped out and attacked me. My life was pretty boring, aside from the few hours I spent playing my favorite games. I turned at the stop sign a few blocks away from my house, just as I had for three years now.

Then something strange happened.

A man walked out from behind a tall shrub, startling me so bad I nearly screamed. He had his head bent down so that his black hair hung down in front of his eyes. His body was bent in strange ways, making him seem deformed.

"Kymma Richardson?" His voice was gravely, creepy even. He wore all black, reminding me of the gothic kids at school, except I had never seen a man dress goth, only teens.

"What?" Fear paralyzed me as raised his head, _how can he know my name? _His eyes were nearly all white, as if he was blind, but they seemed to see right into my soul. It was more than a little creepy, but I couldn't pull myself away to run. The hair on my arms stood straight up.

"You seek something larger than yourself." He started to turn away, "But you will not like what you will find."

And with that, he was gone. He just… vanished.

_Strange_. I thought. _He must have been on something_. I continued my walk to school, a bit more than freaked out to say the least.

"Nice shirt, freak," Ariel, the head cheerleader, sneered as I past her on my way to my locker. Her little clique called out other rude insults as they followed her. Anger built up inside me, causing my fingers to shake. I shoved my books in and slammed my locker door. Ariel, not having made fun of me enough, had made her way back behind me and was standing with her group. I turned to face the inevitable.

"Wow, have you heard of make up?" Clarise, one of her henchmen, commented as another girl walked over to inspect my hair.

"Or a straightener?" She picked a piece of my curly hair and tossed it aside

Frustrated, I shoved the girl's hand away from my head. My instincts screamed to punch that bleach blond cheerleader right in the nose. Ariel barked another insult at me. I choked down the need to punch her. Her laughing crew was too much to handle, especially after the day I endured. I started out of the hall, to the double doors at the end that led outside. It wouldn't be the first time I had cut school, and it wouldn't be the last.

By the time I made it to the doors, the entire hall was laughing and pointing. Not that it was unfamiliar or new to me, I had been getting made fun of for three years straight. All because of Emma, my incredibly gorgeous sister.

Behind me, I heard someone shout, "Look! The ugly duckling's running away!"

I had to brake out in a run to get away from it all. I started crying when I heard the doors shut behind me. I hated to cry in front of people. I couldn't really go anywhere to cry. I didn't have a car, because I refused to be my sister's charity case. So, I had to walk, just like always. The trees behind the school caught my eye. I had always wanted to wonder in there, and today was just a good as day as any.

The tree line wasn't that far from the parking lot that I was standing in. The trees were beautiful: green, dark, lush with leaves. Once inside the woods, I sat on an old fallen tree. I was so tired of my life. All I wanted was something _good _to happen to me. Just once.

Suddenly, a sharp pain burst through my entire body. It felt I was going to explode, and then _pop_.

"Uh… That's not a troll, Nolan."

I opened my eyes a little bit. Three boys, roughly my own age, were standing in front of me, looking rather confused. They were dressed very strange: one in yellow, one in purple—_really? Purple on a guy?_—and one in black.

"I could argue that it was."

* * *

**Yeah, it's short, but come one! It's a first chapter! I promise the next chapter will be longer!**

**Any guesses who the three guys are? Cookies to the person who guesses right!**

**Until next time!**

**Starwhisker**


	2. A Magicless Night

**A/N: Sorry there's so much dialogue, it looked much better in word :(  
**

* * *

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 2  
_A Magic-less Night_

I was confused. One moment ago, I was sitting on a log in the woods behind my high school, and now I was lying on the ground beside a massive tree with people in strange clothes crowded around me. Conversations ensued around me, most of them consisted of strange questions.

"Who is she?"

"Is she Storm?"

"She must be Storm, she's wearing purple."

I glanced at my now torn and dirty purple T-shirt, and then back at the robe-and-cape wearing people around me.

"Nolan, I don't think summoning a Storm is part of your training." The boy in black robes nudged his yellow draped friend. Nolan raised his eyebrow at him, and shot back a response that I couldn't hear.

"Malorn, maybe we should Ambrose?" The boy in purple said, pushing his white hair out of his eyes. Malorn, the boy in black, nodded.

"Shut it, Tallstaff." Nolan shot him a glare, and turned back to me, "You from Dragonspyre? You've got the crazy hair thing going on."

I shook my head, still confused. Was Dragonspyre in Pennsylvania or something? As the three boys then turned and begun to talk amongst themselves, I couldn't help but to admire them. All three of them were cute. The one in purple had long, white hair and light skin. Even his strange clothes were kind of cute.

Malorn had black hair that matched his robes and slightly fell in his eyes. He had very pretty dark colored eyes. Nolan, though, caught my attention. I couldn't see his hair from his hood, but a few dark strands kept falling in his face. He had very light eyes, but the sneer on his face seemed to bring his eyes up in sharp angles.

The boy in purple was the first to turn back to me, hand outstretched. I smiled and took it.

"Boris Tallstaff." I noticed he had very white teeth, and a very strange air about him. Malorn also introduced himself, and when it was obvious that Nolan wouldn't, he also introduced him. I nodded to them, and took in my surroundings.

I was standing in a courtyard-type place, with a gigantic tree in the middle. Buildings with similar colors to what the people around me were wearing wrapped round the circular yard. I didn't have long to take everything in before an old man came pushing his way through the crowd.

"I hear there's been some sort of accident." He was speaking to Nolan, Malorn, and Boris. He didn't acknowledge me, even though everyone else seemed to.

"Nolan tried to summon a troll, and he summoned… a girl, Headmaster Ambrose." Boris explained, earning himself a glare from Nolan. The old man twisted his long beard around his finger in thought.

"Professor Drake," Ambrose turned to another man, with a brutal stare and big nose, "is this possible?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Headmaster." Drake sneered at Boris, "Perhaps this is a not so cleverly concocted joke?"

"No, no. I believe Boris, though I do not know how this happened." He turned back to Boris, to see that all three of the boys' eyes were on me. He looked at me and smiled. In some weird way, he reminded me of a skinny Santa.

"Why, hello there!"

"Um, hi?" He smiled at my response, and when I said nothing more he chuckled.

"Oh, dear me, I've forgotten my manners." He outstretched a rather wrinkly hand, I shook it, "I am Merle Ambrose, Headmaster here at Ravenwood school."

"Kymma Dawn." His hand was relatively cold in mine, and when he let go, I had the strange urge to rub my hands together.

"Nice to meet Ms. Kymma." He peered at me and twisted his beard, "You're not from around here, I presume."

"I'm from Ohio. I'm not really sure where 'here' is exactly."

Ambrose's eyes widened at that revelation. A women in a red dress with bright orange hair gasped. She pushed through the crowd to stand by the old man's side. She looked up at him, eyes ablaze with curiosity.

"But, we haven't had contact with Earth in so long, Merle."

Gasps echoed throughout the small courtyard, followed by whispers of slightly different versions of: 'she's a non-magic!'

"I know, Falmea. It's been hundreds of years since I walked on earth's soil." The headmaster seemed to be in a world of his own. He must have been remembering things that had happened a very, very long time ago. Malorn silenced the gossiping students.

"But, if the Spiral key to Earth is missing, how did she get here?" Falmea looked back at me, "and how will she get back?"

"Wait," I held my hands, and both Ambrose and Falmea looked at me, "What do you mean that you haven't had contact with _Earth _in so long?"

"Dear, do you know where you are?" Falmea's intense gaze softened as she looked at me. I shook my head. Ambrose sighed, and told Nolan, Boris, Malorn, and me to follow him to his office. Nolan let out an infuriated sigh at being called to the Headmaster's office.

I followed behind Boris and Malorn—who both made sure I was alright before following Ambrose—with Nolan following behind me so closely he kept stepping on my heels. I turned to look at him before we walked through a tunnel that I assumed was the exit, but I was met with a sneer. After we walked through the tunnel, I could feel Nolan walking beside. I could feel the anger prickle off him in waves.

"This is all your fault," Nolan glared at me from behind his hood as he spoke, "I was Professor Drake's star student, and look how badly you've messed that up."

"My fault?" I stared at him in confusion, "How is this _my _fault? I don't even know where I am!"

Nolan smirked at me, "I wish _I _didn't know where you were."

"Go to hell, Nolan." I trudged past him to stand by Boris and Malorn, once again ignoring the need to punch Nolan in the face. He was beginning to remind me more and more of Ariel, and I was beginning to hate him.

"Hell? What in Bartelby's name is that?" Nolan's voice was confused, then mocking. Somehow he had caught up with me, because I could feel his face close to my ear.

"Stupid girl," He whispered, and then turned back to the group. My eye twitched a little with the strain of not punching him in his pretty face. I yearned to make him much less beautiful, maybe blacken his eye or break his nose.

I realized that we were standing in front a nice sized building. Ambrose led us inside, and motioned to several seats. I quickly stole the seat between Malorn and Boris. Ambrose sat behind his desk and sighed.

"Kymma, there isn't an easy way to say this. You've been taught that magic doesn't exist, correct?" I nodded, and felt Malorn's eyes on me.

"Ravenwood is a school of magic, along with Pigswick Acadamy. We have seven schools of magic: Storm, Ice, Fire, Death, Life, Myth, and Balance." He nodded to the boys, as if it was some kind of secret signal.

"I'm Storm," Boris smiled, and motioned to his clothes, "that's why I wear purple."

"Death," Malorn grinned, much bigger than Boris's smile, and raised his chin a little, "I teach the beginners their first spells."

Nolan let out an overdramatic sigh, "I'm a Conjurer." At the look on my face, he preceded to rolls his eyes and explain that a Conjurer was a student of the Myth school. Malorn shot him a look, and Nolan, once again, rolled his eyes.

"You see, Kymma, six of the seven schools harness their power from other things in the Spiral. The elemental schools—Fire, Ice, and Storm—pull their powers from the first creatures that roamed the Spiral. Fire pulls from the Dragon titans, Ice from the Frost Giants, and Storm from Tritons. The spirit schools—Death, Life, and Myth—pull their magic from themselves. The Balance school pulls things from each of the schools." The Headmaster explained slowly, giving me time to take it all in."

Nolan picked the dirt from his nails, and muttered without looking up: "Why should she know? She's _non-magic_."

Ambrose ignored his comment and continued, "Can I trust you four to keep a secret?"

Boris, Malorn, and I nodded. Nolan's head jerked up at the mention of a secret, but he said nothing. I looked at him for a moment, only to be glared at.

"We found that younger Wizards had a hard time harnessing their magic, especially in the spirit schools. So, some of our professors and myself created crystals that Wizards could draw power from. Only our professors know about the crystals and where they are stored." Ambrose paused, looking worn down and worried. He sighed, and continued, "It is possible that Malistaire corrupted the Myth crystal in hope to stop his brother from helping defeat him. This could cause our young Conjurers to summon children of Earth instead of their Myth creatures."

Boris grinned, "So, Nolan doesn't have enough mind power to drive his own magic?"

Before Nolan could smart off to Boris with some incredible insult, Ambrose intervened, "One must be a very talented and wise Wizard to cast without the assistance of a crystal. I'm afraid Nolan just hasn't progressed far enough to not need a little help."

Ambrose continued rattling off about how young Wizards needed these crystals. I was more interested in the muttered fight between Boris and Nolan."

"Journeyman." Boris whispered behind me at the Conjurer.

"At least I can get a girl."

"At least I can cast a spell."

"Do you _know _what you're messing with, Tallstaff?"

Boris smirked, "A journeyman, who cannot cast a troll."

"I will ha-"

The two immediately fell silent and still, though their eyes rolled around franticly. I could Malorn chuckle a little bit from the corner of my eye.

"So, Headmaster, is it possible to fix the Myth crystal if it is corrupted?"

Ambrose nodded, and smiled a little bit, "Are you young Wizards ready for an adventure?"

* * *

I walked out with Malorn, while Nolan and Boris still sat in their chairs. He laughed when made it outside, and explained when he saw my confused look.

"Ambrose heard them arguing, so he stunned them."

"Stun?" I blinked, "Is that a spell?"

Malorn smiled, suddenly he seemed… softer. His face was no longer pulled up in tight edges and rigged corners. He seemed almost boyish, though I could tell he was a little bit older than me. He patted my back, and nodded.

"You're going to need to bunk with someone, since you don't have your own dorm."

That made me panic a little bit. I couldn't stay with Nolan, because he was an egotistic smart-elec and he annoyed every nerve in my body, and Boris didn't seem like a good choice. I could stay with Malorn. _Bad idea! _I thought to myself.

Sensing my uneasiness, Malorn whispered: "You could stay with Boris's sister. She's nice, and likes new people."

"What if she doesn't like me?"

"Trust me," Malorn smiled a little bit, "If she can live with Nolan, she can like anybody."

I admired the way his cheeks formed little dimples when he smiled, and how his eyes were so soft even if they were a dark chocolate color. He blew a stray piece of black hair out of his eyes.

_Oh, this is bad idea_.

* * *

**Ok guys! I hope that was better :D Unfortunately, I still don't have a beta. So, if you see an error, just tell and I'll fix it. **

**Cookies to Momoko Nakamura, fanficreader137, Firestorm Nauralagos, and half a cookie to DeathySophia because she missed one. **

**Ok, as for the OCs. Everyone has sent in some really good ones. A few of them need work so I thought I'd tell you. **

**Momoko Nakamura: ****I like Susan, but can you change her last name? I realize that you probably really like it, but it doesn't seem very believe able to me. Yes, W101 is a game, I know, but I'm trying to kind of make this realistic. Just a little :)**

**BlackRoseNecromancer****: I love Ryan's name and tattoo thing, but I'm not sure I can incorporate the whole black blood/ banshee curse thing. BUT I am in need of a few little earthlings, so what do you think about her being one the ported students? I can definitely put her in that role. **

**DeathySophia****: Stephen DEFINITELY has a part in the story! Thank you sooo much for all the detail. **

**yin-yang girl12: ****Ok, she can be a Earthling too. Read BlackRoseNecromancer's message above is you need to know more.**

**Hour 13: ****Ok, I think I can fit him in, but he probably won't play much of a part until the around the end or the next book. Also, a more vivid description would be wonderful.  
**

**Annnd if Momoko Nakamura doesn't respond there is a life position open. Thanks to everyone for submitting OCs!**

Question: I know that there are a lot of kids reading these, and I just want to know from my readers how you feel about curse words. I don't want to run anyone off. By the way, I don't mean like every other word, some things are just not emotional enough without it. Like calling Nolan a smart-elec. I didn't like that…

Well, R&R!


	3. Untapped

**Momoko Nakamura: Thanks for changing the name! I didn't mean for it to sound like I was telling W101 is a game, I figured you knew that. Just a lot of times I do these people say stuff about how it's not real and I'm too practical about this. And don't worry about her thing with Malorn, it fits perfectly ;) Oh, and I don't have the naming system memorized either, that probably really is a combination. **

* * *

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 3  
_Untapped_

I stared across the room at Malorn and Nolan's younger sister, Susan Darkwhisper. I was heavily annoyed at the sight of her making goo-goo eyes at him. Malorn didn't seem to notice, even though he had his arm slung around her shoulders and she was laughing hysterically at a joke that wasn't even funny.

"So, what about Kymma staying here for the night?" Malorn fidgeted a little bit as he spoke. Susan blinked in confusion, obliviously having forgotten about me—the quiet girl sitting at her kitchen table. Malorn looked at me apologetically.

"Oh! Kymma," Susan gave me a quick look over, and nodded, "yeah she can stay. Anything for my bestie."

Malorn smiled a little, and kissed her forehead. I was pretty sure my eye twitched.

"Oh," Malorn said as he stood up, "give her some clothes, too. You two look about the same size. She needs to fit in at Krokotopia so we can get that key."

Susan nodded as he walked out the door, and turned to me, "So, you're the new girl everyone's been talking about."

I shrugged, "I guess. Thanks for letting me-"

"I'm only letting you stay because Malorn thinks I should let you. Don't thank me."

I blinked, and nodded. Susan was very pretty, and it was pretty obvious that she was Nolan's sister. She told me that my room was the second door on left in the hall. I thanked her as I walked out of the kitchen, but distinctly heard her mutter something about how we couldn't possibly be the same size. _Wonderful_, I rolled my eyes; _I'm bunking with another Ariel._ I opened the door, revealing a large green bedroom. The walls were wallpapered in a beautiful forest landscape, and the floor was a mock type of grass. It was gorgeous.

I sighed as I sat down on the big green bed. I was so tired, and, in a way, the happiest I had ever been. I had finally gotten to have something good in my life. It didn't matter that Malorn practically had girlfriend, Nolan was a total jerk, everyone called me non-magic, or that Ambrose was looking for a way to get me home. I didn't want to home. I wanted to stay here forever. All that mattered to me was a boy was talking to me, I knew three incredibly cute guys, and my life was finally going to have some meaning.

For once, someone needed _me _to help _them_.

Ambrose had told us that a man named Alhazred had the key to unlock the secret hiding spot of the crystals. So, in order to get the key, we had to travel to Krokotopia to something called the Krokosphinx. Nolan was furious because he had to accompany us, and had stopped by Susan's house long enough to tell me how much of a witch I was. Malorn had to leave when he did to find someone to teach his class for him. I hadn't seen Boris since we left Ambrose's office. I sighed a little; it was hard not to wonder what my parents were doing while I was in a world of magic.

"Hey." I nearly jumped straight off the bed. Susan was smiling at me from the door, holding an arm full of clothes. Her short white hair bobbed a little when she laughed.

"Sorry, about earlier. I'm a little," She walked towards the bed and dumped the clothes onto it, "…protective."

"It's ok." I smile back, pulling myself into a sitting position. Susan sat on the edge of the bed, pulled out a white tunic with what appeared to be a hawk's face on the front.

"I wore this back when I was an apprentice. So, you should fit in." She put the tunic back down and looked up at me, "Do… do you like him?"

I knew who she was talking about, and from fear of being murdered in my sleep, I shook my head. She nodded, and laid out a pair of boots and a hat for me. The hat was cute, and reminded me of what we studied in history. In fact, al lot of the clothing here reminded me of the clothes worn back in the early nineteen hundreds to the late eighteen hundreds. Susan moved the clothes to a nearby chair, and told me to get some sleep.

"Hey, Susan," She turned back to me, "how do you handle Nolan?"

"Nolan's a very… different person." She smiled a little, "He can be a big sweetheart. He doesn't show affection like other people do. He has his own way."

And with that, Susan left me sitting in a big bedroom wondering how in the world Nolan could be a sweetheart.

* * *

I was awoken with the sound of an argument. It was not the kind of argument where things were thrown and broken, just a simple old yelling fight. I got up and put on the clothes Susan had set out for me. They were actually very pretty when I put them on. The tunic was white with back trim and a touch green. The shoes and hat were simply black, but they were still cute. I was surprised about how good they looked on me. I started down the hall until I could make out what they were saying.

"I'm not saying you have to be her best friend, Susan." It was Malorn, and he didn't sound too angry, just exasperated. It seemed as if they had been discussing this for a while now.

"I don't care what you're saying, Ashthorn, I just want you to know that she can't _live _with me. She's going to have to go home sooner or later." Susan was the one yelling, and very loudly at that, "I don't hate her, or anything like that. It's just that simple. She's non-magic. _She_ _cannot stay here_."

"She can't help that she's not magic." Malorn paused, and then continued with a disgusted voice, "You're starting to sound like Nolan."

"Why do you care _soo_ much about a girl from _Earth_? She can't do anything special." I could hear the frustration in her voice as she threw her hands in air. Malorn chuckled, but his laugh sounded… dangerous, as if it was a warning.

"Drop it, Susan."

"I will NOT drop it!" She was crying a little bit now, "You're supposed to care about _me_, you… you..."

"Susan," Malorn sighed, and reached for her. She pulled away from and shook her head. He stared back at her in confusion, "What?"

"You don't even _think_ about hugging me until you get over-" I went ahead and walked in, hoping they would stop fighting, Malorn looked almost as terrified as I felt, "-her."

Susan stomped out of the living room and into the hallway. Malorn looked me up and down for a seconded and nodded. I smiled weakly, but said nothing about what I had heard.

"Just wake up?" Malorn seemed nonchalant, and was adjusting his robe to keep from looking at me.

"Yeah, and I had to change." I pulled at my robe where it was too tight across the belly, "What was up with all the yelling?"

Malorn sighed, probably in relief, and just shrugged at my question. A knock came at the door.

"Suzy!" It was Boris. Apparently, everyone was meeting here. I pushed past Malorn to open the door. Boris was in something similar to what he wore yesterday, except that he now wore a cloak similar to what Suan had loaned me.

"Where's Suzy?" Boris asked as he plopped down on Susan's large white sofa. He looked at us expectedly; I glanced at Malorn, only to find him staring at me. I could feel the blush creeping on my cheeks. Malorn sighed a little bit and explained that Susan was in her room because they had a tiny fight, though he didn't say what the fight was about. _Me_, I thought, panicking, _they were fighting me._

"That bites." Boris played with the end of his staff as we waited for Nolan. I sat down beside, hands shaking from nerves. Boris asked if I was ok, I simply nodded and stared at the door. Malorn left to go change in one of the guest rooms. Boris looked at my hair with a strange look. I had forgotten that I braided it before I came down.

"What have you done to your hair?"

"I braided it." I raised an eyebrow at his awe of my hair. Had they boy never seen a braid? By the look on his face, no, he had never seen a braid. Another knock on door sounded, and I answered.

It was Nolan, in a rather handsome yellow and white cloak with a strange symbol on the front. He had on a different hat, though he still had his hair hidden. This hat was some kind of hood, but also covered his mouth with a light blue cloth. He wore simple yellow and blue boots with some gold straps across them. Nolan also had changed his staff from a wood want with a red ball on the end to a wooden staff with a curved end and a blue ball in the middle.

I realized that I had been standing at the door staring at him the whole. I shook my head just I realized that he hadn't said anything. I looked back at him to see that he too was looking at my new apparel.

"Coming in, bro, or you gonna stand there and stare at her all day?" Boris grinned as he said this, making his nose wrinkle up a little. I laughed nervously, and smiled at Nolan. He glared at me, narrowing his pretty blue eyes in my direction. He turned back to Boris, unable to let that comment go.

"I wasn't staring, I waiting for her to get her ass out of my way." He sat down on the sofa, practically glowing with agitation. Boris told him he seriously needed to PvP—whatever that was—to get some of his anger out of the way. I started to ask, but really didn't feel like more information. Malorn walked back in, dressed in black armor and equipped with a long, double edged sword. He looked around. _God, he's handsome. _I shook my head at the random thought.

"Ready to go?" Malorn looked around at everyone. Boris stood, putting his hand out in front of them. Nolan stood and put his hand on top of Boris's. Malorn motioned for me to do the same. I walked over, laying my hand on top of Nolan's. I took a deep breath as he whispered something that sounded like a different language. Pain ripped through my body, like each molecule of my existence was being torn apart and put back together. I could someone screaming, and it took a few seconds to realize that person was me. I wondered why I was the only one screaming. Could everyone not feel how horrible this was? It was dark. I was unsure if my eyes had closed or if there was simply no light in this place. I was near tears when someone's voice cut through my screams.

"Kymma, are you ok?" It was Malorn's voice, or maybe Nolan's. What if I had imagined that? Was it safe to speak?

"Nolan?" Even my mind was screaming that it was a stupid thing to say. Somewhere deep inside I _knew _it was Malorn speaking, but for some reason I hoped it was Nolan. I should have been happy that anyone cared enough to ask if I was ok because at home that would have never happened.

"No," The voice came again from the darkness, "It's Malorn."

"Open your eyes, stupid." Now _that _was Nolan. I realized that once again, my eyes worked and I could open them. Malorn was kneeled beside me, peering down at my face. I had to resist screaming at his surprising closeness. Nolan was standing beside me, looking down at me with his hands in makeshift pockets on the side of his robes, "I was wondering if you died."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me." I shot back, hoping that my face was sour enough to be convincing. Malorn stood and helped me up. I thanked him as I dusted myself off.

"On to the Balance school!" Boris grinned, marching ahead of his with his head held high. I walked between Malorn and Nolan, watching the girls quite literally drool over the three. Boris flicked his white hair out of his face. Nolan glanced at them and muttered something about annoying apprentices.

"Wait, it's an island?" I asked once the Krokosphinx came into view.

Boris turned back toward me, now walking backwards, and spoke, "A _floating _island."

I raised an eyebrow. Malorn smiled and patted my back again, "It's totally safe, don't worry."

"Wow, I bet your girlfriend's pissed about this." Nolan laughed a little. Malorn shot a look his way, but said nothing. We walked across the sandy surface of the island we were currently standing on to a small flying boat thing. We rode for a few minutes, with desert air and sand flying around us. It was unbelievably hot on the boat. I was working up a sweat just trying to pull my hair out of my face from where it had come loose from my braid.

"Step out slowly!" Boris called, earning himself a rude comment from Nolan. I followed them off the boat and to a small ladder. I was forced to go first, and didn't like the idea, but went any way. The school was small, and cold. I let Boris go through the door first, being a little freaked out by the pet crocodile that the teacher had. Boris smiled and started talking. I looked around for the teacher, and couldn't find him/her.

"Boris Tallstaff! Ah, how long has been?" The pet croc smiled. I nearly had a heart attack. It was a talking crocodile.

"Too long, Alhazred." Boris smiled back at the Balance teacher. Great, so not only was it a talking crocodile, it also taught magic. I was unsure what made this seem more like a dream: a talking, magic teacher crocodile or having guys be nice to me. Hmm, must be a tie.

"What can I help you with? Come to learn more magic?"

"No, actually we're here because we think you have a key that we need." Alhazred did something similar to raising his eyebrow, Boris continued, "We need the key to the crystal room."

Alhazred sighed and shook his big head, "I'm sorry, Boris, but the key to the crystal room was stolen by a women who claimed to be a henchman of Malistaire. She took it before the Fang fell."

Nolan groaned and threw his hands up in the air, "You cannot even keep up with a simple key? Now I can't summon anything without bringing a stupid girl from Earth to Ravenwood."

"Shut up, Nolan." Malorn hissed. I actually felt bad for Nolan. He seemed really upset about the Myth crystal, or just upset in general. I couldn't tell which.

"Well, now what?" Malorn asked, looking between Boris and Alhazred.

Alhazred sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance for you young wizards."

"It's ok. Thanks anyway." Boris smiled, turned back to us, and held out his hand, "Ready to go back?"

"Let's go. Maybe Ambrose will know what to do."

"Wait!" We turned back to Alhazred. He smiled and continued, "I can teach you to port to Earth. The last thing I heard about the henchman was that she was on the old world. Maybe it can help you."

We spent the next few hours learning how to focus our 'mind's eye' on Earth and push our body's toward it. Boris and Malorn seeming to be getting the hang of, Nolan and I, on the other hand, were not. I was non-magic and Nolan needed the crystal to cast spells. After Boris and Malorn seemed to have perfected the technique, we went back to Susan's house.

* * *

"I'll talk to Ambrose." Boris said as he walked out of the door. I watched the big oak door close behind him without making much of a sound. I was tired beyond belief, especially after the port back home, which was worse than the first one. Malorn had left when we got back because he wanted to get back to his classes. Nolan, Susan, and I were the only ones left in the house.

"So," Susan said, rocking back and forth on her heels. She was obviously trying to make conversation.

"We didn't get the key," Nolan fumed, "Alhazred lost it. Seriously, who loses a key_ that _important?"

"Did you forget that you lost the key to Unicorn Way?" Susan grinned, mocking him. I expected him to go crazy and start chewing her out.

He laughed.

Nolan Stormgate _laughed _at someone ridiculing him.

Yep, I was pretty sure I was dreaming.

"Yeah, I remember that." Nolan smiled, and realized I was staring at him with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't help that he shocked me bad enough to make me stare at him like an idiot.

"Are you expecting me to kiss you with that face?" Activate Nolan smart-remarks again. I sighed and turned back to the door. He made an _hmm _sound, and started talking to his sister again.

"I got to go back home and get some sleep." Nolan got up and hugged his sister, and then stopped awkwardly in front of me, "Well—uh—see ya, stupid."

I waved nonchalantly and listened as the door closed. I sighed and got up. Susan bided me a goodnight, surprisingly still being nice to me after this morning, as I walked toward my room. I closed the door behind me in hopes of knowing if Susan came to murder me in my sleep. I sat on my bed in the pitch black darkness to mull over the day's events.

I knew that Earth could potentially be in trouble, and our only way of really doing anything we couldn't get to. I also knew that Malorn at _least _liked me, especially after everything that was said that morning, and that I liked him… a lot. He did look rather marvelous in that black armor, he reminded me of a knight, and his hair was beautiful. _Nolan's cute, too, though._ I shook my head at the thought. I couldn't like Nolan; nothing good could ever come of that. _But… he is handsome… and he has pretty eyes._ I thought unwillingly.

_Maybe he likes me. He _did _say something about kissing me_. The thought made my skin prickle. _Hmm. What are the pros. He _can _be nice, at least to his sister, and he _is _smart… Even if he's a jerk_. I sighed at my newest problem. _Nolan or Malorn_. I rolled my eyes in an attempt to clear my head.

_Don't forget how _gorgeous _I am._

I held back a scream as I fell of my bed. I looked around, panicking.

"Who's there?"

_I'm not hiding in your room, stupid._

I squeaked and held my rears. There was no way this was happening. Nolan couldn't be telepathic. That wasn't possible, was it? _Get out of my head!_ I screamed in my head, climbing back into my bed.

_You know what this means? You at least have some magic because you called me. _

I teared up a little and pulled the covers over my head. I'd never felt so humiliated before, even when Ariel told Tim that I liked him. I wondered how much he had heard. _Can you just get out of my head so I can think to myself? _I cried in my mind, hoping that I didn't sound _too _pathetic.

_You must just have untapped magic. Hmm. That's almost as weird as you. And quit crying._

I sniffled and buried my head in my pillow, praying that I wouldn't wake up and have to face seeing him again.

* * *

**Ok! Yay! Chapter 3 is up! Hope you guys like it! So, what do you guys think about my little take on chat speak, huh? Telepathy :D!**

**BlackRoseNecromancer: Oh course I like her! You were very creative with her! Thanks, and I do not plan to discontinue!**

**Hour 13: Thanks!  
**

**DeathySophia: Sweet! I've never met someone on fanfic that wasn't a native English speaker! And don't worry, I hate that one.**

**fanficreader137: Yeah, I'm changing it to a T. Thanks, I wouldn't have thought about it!  
**

**Well, R&R!  
**


	4. Dance, Dance Nolanution

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 4  
_Dance, Dance Nolan-ution _

I woke up that morning, smiling and ready to face the day. Well, no, that was lie. I actually woke up, groaned at the thought of seeing Nolan again, and hid under my covers. The shadows on the ceiling grew longer and longer with each passing hour. I could hear the door open and shut down the hall, knowing that Malorn, Boris, and Nolan were meeting in the living room to discuss our next plan. I had lain in bed so long that I was beginning to get tired of lying. I sighed. I knew that facing Nolan was inevitable, but that didn't make me want to run in to the living room and dance.

_I know you're awake._

I blew all that air out of my lungs in an attempt to hold back a scream. _How did you miss the 'No trespassing' sign on my brain?_

I could _actually _hear Nolan laugh down the hall. _Come on, Dawn, we need to talk to you._

Dawn? I blinked for a second, and then realized that he thought my last name was Dawn. I didn't want to be Kymma Richardson, the ugly girl with a movie star sister; I wanted to be Kymma Dawn, the beautiful, fearless wizard who saved Earth. But, when I told Ambrose my last name was Dawn, I just didn't want to be Richardson. I had no idea what I wanted Kymma Dawn to be. _Wait… He didn't call me stupid!_

_Oh… Get down here stupid!_

I laughed a little and got up. Moments later, I realized that Susan had not left me any clothes. _Great._ I thought. All I had was my pajamas, which consisted of an old tank top I wore under my shirt at school and a pair of shorts I borrowed from Susan. Susan was much shorter than me, so those shorts were pretty, well, short on me. _Nolan?_

_Hmm?_

I bit my lip. _Can you ask Susan to bring me some clothes?_

_Tell me how handsome I am and I will. _

_Screw it_. I rolled my eyes and started down the hall. I knew how rather rugged I looked, but there wasn't much I could do. I was on the verge of hating myself for even attempting this by the time I reached the living room. I could see Malorn's eye brow shoot up from the corner of my eye and heard Susan gasp a little.

"I didn't have any clothes…" Nolan and Malorn said nothing, but Boris jumped up and started rambling about how I could change when I got home. I gawked at him. "How can I change at home when we're in Wizard City?"

"We port to Earth and you teach us how to be… normal Earthlings!" Boris exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Oh," Nolan shook his head as he spoke, as if he was recovering from a head injury, "another kid from Earth was ported in today. Ambrose wants you to come see her in Moolinda's room."

"Show me," I looked between the three boys, Boris was the first to hit the door and lead me back to Ravenwood. Malorn and Nolan were close behind.

"The girl's kind of weird." Boris said as Malorn crossed the threshold to the rest of us. He nodded, signaling that we could continue. I smiled a little at him, he grinned.

"She keeps talking about how she's in some kind of game and how she's a level seventy in here." Nolan glanced at me, his light eyes glimmering, "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know." I whispered, a little unsure of why I whispered. Boris pulled the door open, flaring his purple cape out behind him as the wind caught it. The door revealed a very green room, with a cow in a green robe standing in the corner. The cow hovered over a girl, about my age with very, very pale skin and brown hair.

"You're Malorn!" The girl sat straight up, making, who I assumed was Moolinda, jump out of her way. The girl's eyes were a strange shade of purple, and the right one was half hidden by her side swept bangs. She had a strange symbol, like the one on Malorn's robe, tattooed on the back side of neck and it wasn't hidden very well by her short bob cut hair.

"Um, yes." Malorn glanced at me in what seemed to be confusion.

"I'm a level seventy Necromancer!" The girl jumped up with a huge grin plastered on her face, "My name's Ryan Hexcaster, by the way."

"Level seventy?" Malorn's pretty face was screwed up in a strange look at Ryan. She simply nodded.

"This is Wizard101, right?"

"The hell is wrong with this kid?" Nolan asked, looking at Moolinda with a expecting look. Moolinda sent him a warning glare, but her face softened after a minute.

"Ryan is very confused right now."

"No, I'm perfectly fine!" Ryan turned back to Moolinda, shaking her head vigorously. She too was wearing Earth clothes: a pair of black wash jeans and a Metallica T-shirt.

"Ryan," She turned when I spoke, "This is not a game. You were ported, like me, from Earth."

"By Malistaire?"

"We think so." I nodded to her.

"I want to help." I smiled at her reaction. I was hoping that she would want to help, because making Nolan, Boris, and Malorn normal enough to fit in on Earth wouldn't be an easy task.

* * *

We were standing on a hill that overlooked my old high school. It had only been a few days since I had been summoned to Wizard City, though it felt like a life-time. Malorn had ported all of us to Earth, including a reluctant Ryan, who insisted that we had to bring her back. I had to admit that finding the three boys had been the best thing that had happened to me. I was sure that Ryan felt the same way.

"Well, this seems boring." Nolan remarked as he leaned against a tree beside me.

"It's Tuesday, so my parent's won't be home." I started down the side of the hill towards my house, "We need to find you some clothes."

I was sure that between my two brothers some clothes had to fit the three. Boris had insisted we find him purple, because it was his color. I didn't take much time to get to my house; we had ported fairly close to it. I pulled open the front door, and started in. Boris was close behind me, making sounds of admiration at the "nifty architectural work" of my house. Malorn leaned against the kitchen island when everyone was inside and starting talking about how we needed to be prepared for a surprise attack. I glanced at the clock on the stove. We had about an hour before everyone would be home. I told them stay put and headed to Isaac's room. I was positive that his clothes would fit at least Malorn, maybe Nolan.

I pulled the door to Isaac's depressing black room open. Posters of girls were plastered across the walls, and the occasional grudge band poster joined their ranks. It was dimly lit, and it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. I power walked over to his dresser and rummaged through its contents. I found a rather nice white T-shirt with a picture of a band I wasn't familiar with on the front. It looked like it would fit Malorn. I tossed it on Isaac's bed and continued through the drawers. I pulled out a shirt I had never seen Isaac wear. It was a black button up with half-length cuffed sleeves. It was cute, but it was missing something. I found another black v neck t-shirt with 'I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid, I really thought you already knew." written across it in white. I smiled, _that _was Nolan.

"You seem stressed." I jumped and nearly dropped the shirt. Nolan was leaned up against the door frame in his yellow and blue robes. He had taken his cape off already and pulled his hood off his head. His hair was black, and majorly contrasted with his pale skin. His blue eyes seemed to pin me in one spot as I stared at him. I was still in awe of his long black hair. I had never seen it before. He snickered a little.

"Um," I blinked and shook my head. I held the button up and t-shirt up to him for his approval, "do you think these will fit you."

"Hmm," he looked at the two items and shrugged, "only one way to find out."

I nodded and started to the bed to lay out his shirts and bring the white one to Malorn. I turned to walk out so he could change, only to find him pulling his cloak off his tossing his hood on to the floor. I was relieved to know that he did wear pants that blended in with his cloak so well that I had never noticed them, but I was surprised to find that Nolan had abs. Major abs. He pulled the v neck out my hand and pulled it over his head. I was still standing there with my mouth hanging open.

"How can you people handle this being so tight?" Nolan pulled at the fabric across his stomach. He also had some serious biceps. I was practically useless, and my mind wasn't hanging on to words properly to answer him. He pulled the button up out of my other hand and slid it on. He looked in the mirror in the corner and glanced over at me, "These pants don't match this."

"Oh…" I whispered. He laughed a little, not the mean laugh he normally used, but a nicer one. One that didn't seem to be making fun of me.

"Here I'll just use these." I turned around for that one, because I knew good and well I would die if I didn't. I picked up Malorn's shirt off Isaac's bed and preoccupied myself by folding it a few times. "Ok, you can look."

I held back a gasp. Nolan could have been some boy I would have passed on the street. He looked so… human. He had a pair of very dark wash jeans on and some of Isaac's Nike shoes.

"Take these to Malorn; they'll fit him." He tossed me another pair of jeans, and then another plus a shirt, "And Boris will wear these."

"Ok," I started out the door.

"Hey, Dawn?" I paused, turning back to him. For a split second he looked almost vulnerable, "Thanks, for doing all this."

"You're welcome, Nolan." I smiled, and started back out.

* * *

"Hey, Emma!" I prayed that word hadn't gotten around to my sister that I was missing. Today, I had broken into my house, stole my brother's clothes, and had now stolen my mother's car that she didn't drive to work. Malorn was propped up in passenger side seat, proudly wearing his Black Veil Brides T-shirt, which Ryan had informed me was a very hip new rock band. I had changed into a much more figure complimenting one-shouldered light blue shirt and cleaner jeans. I wouldn't lie, I hadn't washed yet.

"Kymma? Is that you?" My heart sunk.

"Yeah, why?"

"You never call me? What's up?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could use your house." I was hoping she would say yes, because we were already five minutes away from it. It was far enough away from town that no one would know we were here but Emma. She rarely had contact with our parents, especially when she was filming, and I was positive that she was.

"Yes, of course!" There was a pause, "Are you having a boy over?"

My face went red, earning me a look from Malorn. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, and I didn't want to get crap from Mom and Dad, so…"

"Kymmie!" I could hear her laughing, "I _told _you that you were gorgeous! Aw, have fun, honey."

"Thanks, Emma."

"Welcome. Ciao!" I hung up as we pulled into the drive way. I clicked the button to open the garage and pulled inside. We all walked in silently.

"So, teach us to be normal." Boris grinned, pumped up and ready to learn. He had fallen in love with the shirt Nolan grabbed for him, even though he didn't quite get it. It said some blond joke across the front of it.

"Well…" I was a little lost at where to begin.

"Normal people don't cast spells." Ryan started, "And they don't battle, they fight."

"With their fists, not wands." I added. Boris looked disappointed, but Nolan seemed to like the idea. Malorn seemed indifferent about the subject, "and they have to attend high school."

"I will not go to school." Nolan shot back, shaking his head vigorously.

"You will if you need to." Malorn replied, injecting before I could day anything witty.

"And you need to know how to have fun." Ryan grinned, and nodded to me. This had been a plan of ours since we discussed it back at my house. Time to play Wii.

I led everyone into the living room, and turned on the TV and Wii. Nolan and Malorn were debating whether or not this was what Ryan called a TV and what that could possibly stand for. Ryan rolled out the dance mat and turned on its controller. The first song that came on was 'You Make Me Feel' by Cobra Starship. Ryan and I laughed and danced until I collapsed on the floor at the end.

"See? Its fun." Ryan grinned. Malorn smiled, and Boris was still trying to understand what we were doing.

"You look like idiots." Nolan commented, cleaning the dirt from under his fingernails.

"Your turn!" I grinned; he paused and looked up at me.

"I will not do that." He resumed what he doing. I glared at him and grabbed his arm. He looked back up at me, black hair falling into his blue eyes. I pulled him over to the mat and stood. He continued to stare at me until Boris walked over and stood on the other side of the mat, waiting for the music to start. Ryan was changing songs, I could hear her, but I couldn't break Nolan's gaze. P!nk's voice blared through the speakers and Nolan turned away from me. Ryan pulled me over to the couch were Malorn sat. I was sure that was the funniest three minutes of my life. Nolan was definitely not a dancer. Boris hit most of the notes perfectly, but Nolan couldn't figure out what he was doing. Most of the time he moving left when he should have went right.

"Malorn!" Nolan yelled when the song went off. Malorn sighed and pulled himself off the couch and to the mat. He motioned for me to dance to, so I joined him. Ryan chose 'Hey Baby' by Pitbull, which I wasn't crazy about, but didn't argue. Malorn could actually dance, and it wasn't as fun to watch someone who _could _dance as it was to watch someone who couldn't.

"Are you happy now?" Nolan asked me, looked rather aggravated about having to dance.

"Very." I smiled. It was getting late, so I helped everyone find their rooms. Emma had a huge house, so there were plenty of bedrooms. Boris crashed in the first one we walked by. The next one was a nice, big white room with a bay window.

"Why don't you take that one, Kymma?" Malorn asked, blinking at me with a smile.

"No, I'm taking the last one." I smiled back, "I think you should take this one."

He shrugged and walked inside. Ryan lingered at the door for a moment, and sweetly requested the next room on the right. It was just Nolan and I now. The next two rooms were down the hall a little way, because Emma had put a master bathroom between Ryan's room and the next one down, which I assumed that Nolan would take. We arrived at the door to Nolan's room. He sighed and leaned against the wood of door, hands stuffed in his pockets. He stared at me, hair still falling into his face. He must have pinned it down with his hood or something, because it had never done that before.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I whispered. I was too close to him. I felt like I needed to take three huge steps backward. I could fell the breath he exhaled on my face.

"Doing what?" He whispered back.

"Staring at me like that."

"I'm not staring," He grinned a little.

"Oh, do I need to get my ass out of the way again?"

"No," Nolan whispered, leaning a little bit closer to me, "you don't need move at all."

My stomach tightened, causing me to panic. "I-uh-good night." I turned and walked to my room as fast as I could. I shut the door behind as soon as I stepped into my room, and leaned against it with my eyes closed. That was far too close. I couldn't get wrapped in a boy. I liked Nolan _and _Malorn more than I should. I didn't deserve a boyfriend, much less one of those two. I flicked the light off and pulled my shirt off, leaving my tank top, and climbed into bed. I seriously needed sleep. I wanted to never wake up again. I wanted to lay in there and die.

But there was still that tiny shred of happiness way down in my heart that made my stomach do flips. There was still that tiny voice in my head that hadn't been broken yet that kept reminding of how close Nolan had been to kissing me. I closed my eyes, allowing a tear to streak down my face. I didn't deserve that kind of happiness, but I still wanted it. I wanted it so bad it made my head spin. I just wanted someone to like me. I wanted someone to make up for the hell everyone else had put me through. This time I didn't jump at Nolan's voice in my head. It was comforting in a way.

_Good night, Kymma._

**Sorry it took so long! I've been super busy! I think for the next chapters I will be putting up the song(s) that inspired me while writing them, because I think that it would help you get the feel of the characters. What do you guys think about that?**

**R&R!**


	5. Never Say Never

(Playlist: Never Say Never- The Fray, Good Night- Gloriana, Remember Everything-Five Finger Death Punch** (This one is like Kymma's theme song :D)**, Through Glass-Stone Sour)

**Beautifully Dark Places**

Chapter 5  
_Never Say Never_

I woke up that morning to the smell of bacon. It had been a very long time since I had bacon, and I was a little afraid to imagine a guy cooking, much less someone who used magic to fix their food. I slung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched out. My nerves had settled from last night, and I was practically kicking myself for running away from Nolan. I struggled to wipe the sleep from my dreary eyes and search for the clothes I laid out last night. I had found a dress that was my size in one of Emma's drawers. It was extremely cute, like most of her clothes, but I was sure that I could move freely enough in it for it to be practical.

I slipped in to it and admired it in mirror. It was a cream colored sun dress with a brown belt around the waist. It hugged me at the right spots and made me look… pretty. I was stunned at difference that one dress could make. I was suddenly cute enough to be accepted.

I walked into the kitchen where Ryan was standing over the stove. She smiled and offered me bacon, though my nerves had returned and I turned it down. She was in the same t-shirt and jeans get-up and had left her hair wavy instead of straightening it. Her purple irises scanned the dining room to our right, and then fell on me.

"I saw that last night."

"What?" I jerked my head up to meet her gaze. She didn't look like she was disapproving or even degrading me, just making a statement. She seemed as indifferent as if she had said 'Barney is a purple dinosaur.' or something.

"I saw you and Nolan." She nonchalantly flipped her bacon. "I saw how you looked at him."

"Why do you care, Ryan?"

"I don't," She glanced over at me, "but I do care about Malorn, and I've seen how _he _looks at _you_." She sighed, and then continued, "I know that it's not my business, but I don't think it's healthy for you jerk them around like that."

"Just don't worry about it. Ok, Ryan?" I said. She shrugged and continued working on her bacon. Boris strolled into the room with his blond joke shirt displayed proudly. Ryan nodded to him in acknowledgement and fixed him a plate of bacon. Boris had smoothed his brown spikey hair down, and looked incredulously different than his wizard self.

"What's on the agenda today, girls?" Boris had a very husky voice that I had never really paid attention to. He was handsome, and I was sure that there was _someone _he was interested in. I felt like I owed it to him somehow to find him a girlfriend. I honestly didn't know why I felt like that.

"We're supposed to head back to Wizard City and talk to Ambrose. There have apparently been more kids summoned from Earth." Ryan brought the plate of bacon over to the dining room table and laid it in front of Boris. He smiled and thanked her.

"It's awesome." She informed him, and headed back to her station at the stove. I could hear the shuffling of footsteps as Malorn and Nolan emerged from the hallway. Malorn's eyes were slit in a nasty look he threw at Nolan, who also had an equally unattractive look upon his face.

"What's up with you two?" Boris asked innocently, munching on piece of bacon as he watched the two boys. Malorn was the first to break the stare to answer Boris. Nolan glanced over at Boris, but kept an eye on Malorn. He made an effort to avoid looking at me.

"Nothing." Malorn's reply was dangerously laced with venom. He walked over and snatched the plate of bacon Ryan had prepared out of her hand. She jumped backward a little, but said nothing. Nolan rather calmly took the plate from her and politely thanked her for the food. She nodded, but still seemed to have not recovered from Malorn's rudeness.

"What's going on?" I asked, pulling my hair up into a pony tail.

"Just eat so we can get out of this forsaken world and go back to normal." Malorn snapped, violently chewing his bacon. _Poor bacon._ I thought gently. I waited, half expecting Nolan's voice to appear in my head, but it never came. Boris got up and washed his plate in the sink, Malorn followed behind him.

"Let's go."

"Dude, let them eat." Nolan said, shaking his head at Malorn.

"Shut the hell up, Nolan!" Malorn yelled, facing turning an alarming shade of red. "We need to get her back to Ambrose as soon as we can. Of course _you're _not in a hurry, you've known about this the whole time!"

"It's not _my _fault that she talks to me and not you." Nolan shot back, standing up and folding his hands into fists. Malorn walked forward a little.

"She could be magic, Nolan! We would have _never _known that because your head so far up your ass you don't care about anyone else!"

"What are you two _talking _about?" I screamed over them as their volume went higher and higher. Malorn turned to me; his chocolate eyes seemed to burn a hole in me.

"You have telepathy, and you never said a _damn word _to me about it."

"I didn't realize I needed to!" I countered. Boris walked over to me and grabbed my hand, with Ryan's in his other one. I ignored him. "Do _not _cuss me, Malorn Ashthorn!"

Suddenly—and rather violently—I was ripped away from reality and to Wizard City again. It took a few minutes for me to realize that Boris had ported the three of us. Ryan gasped for breath beside him, and he was busy trying to console her for scaring her. We were in front of Ambrose's office, and I had the strangest feeling that I needed to walk in. I did so, without a single word to the other two.

The heavy, ornate wooden door pushed open with ease, but creaked as it did so. I saw the elderly man sitting behind his desk, talking to tall man with the long nose I saw on the first day I was here. I recalled his name to be Cyrus Drake, professor of the Myth School.

"Ah, Kymma!" The Headmaster greeted me, and motioned to the seat beside Drake, "I was expecting you. Malorn told me that you have telepathy, which means you at least have magic in your blood." He paused, making sure that I was listening. "There is no way to tell how diluted it is. All we can do is attempt to tap into your stored magic and try to make it flow correctly."

Cyrus looked down his nose at me. "This has never been successfully completed. Do not get your hopes up."

"I've observed you during your stay here in Ravenwood, and from what I have observed you are patient and wise beyond your years. I think you are an Ice, if you do belong to a school." I blinked at Ambrose as he spoke, "Professor Grayrose will summon you when she is ready."

I shrugged and stood. Cyrus sneered at me. "And tell Nolan that all there are to be no more conjures until otherwise stated." I nodded and walked out.

* * *

I found myself standing on the cobblestone street that led to Malorn's home. I had never been to his house, and the thought made my palms sweaty. I sighed and shook my head. I owed him an explanation for not telling him about my telepathy, even if it meant going to his house. The street was dark, and reminded me of London from the early nineteen-hundreds. There was a street lamp beside his townhouse, but that was the only light source on the street, apart from the moon that glowed overhead.

I walked up the few steps that led to his door, and knocked swiftly. The door opened a few moments later. Malorn's head popped out of the half opened door.

"Oh, sorry, hang on." He shut the door, something clicked, and he reopened it. He must have had it bolted shut or something. He stepped aside and let me in. His house wasn't as big as Susan's, but it was still roomy. He apologized for 'the mess', which consisted of a few leaves on the welcome mat and a drink on the table. He always did strike me as a neat person.

"What can I do for, Kymma?" He asked, sitting down on the couch that faced the bay window beside the door. I sat beside him.

"I wanted to talk to you." My words made me queasy. I didn't really want to talk to him, but I needed to. I needed to get this off my conscious. He looked at me, brows knitted together in confusion. "For… for not telling you about the telepathy…" My voice trailed off at the end.

He turned sideways in his seat to look at me easier. He had subtly scooted closer, and it was obvious that he had already exonerated me. "I don't blame you, Kym." He whispered gently, chocolate eyes shimmering in the dim lighting of his London-themed home. He continued after a moment's pause, leaning away from me with a repulsed look on his face, "Nolan is who I blame. He knew that you were magic and he would be content to send you on your merry way home. That bastard would have let you go back to Earth without as much as a word."

I didn't say anything for several minutes, allowing him a cool-down period. Malorn sat back against the couch and ran his fingers through his black hair. He had changed back into his wizardly attire when we all arrived in Wizard City again. Unfortunately, he had gone back to the all-black cape and tunic-like shirt, but he had ditched the hat. He looked better without the jester-style hat.

"I didn't want you to leave." He whispered half to himself. He looked depressed in that moment, as he stared down at his black boots. I was at a loss for words in that moment. I tried to suppress my thoughts as much as possible; I was afraid that Nolan might hear them.

"I don't want to leave," I replied, feeling my body lean closer to him, and he looked over at me. For a moment, even the air was still. But then, of course, an idiotic comment flew out of my mouth before I could stop it: "but if Nolan wasn't going to tell you, and just let me go home, how did you find out?"

Malorn momentarily ignored my comment, glancing from eyes to my mouth, but then seemed to think that I needed an answer. "I don't know what happened. He just came into my room, woke me up, and told me you were telepathic. Then later he told me that the two of you had been talking for a few days and hadn't said a word."

"But… He… I…" I stuttered, words spilling out of my mouth before I could stop them. The words in my head flashed by faster than I could say them: _Stupid, ugly, deceit, kiss, reprehensible, disgraceful, Nolan, back-stabber, liar, cheater_. There were so many words; words I could begin to count or even process. Malorn was still staring at me, waiting for me to collect my speech and continue, but I didn't.

Or worse, I couldn't.

I couldn't begin to explain to Malorn that I liked Nolan, which was why I didn't tell him about our telepathic conversations. I couldn't tell him that Nolan almost kissed me, or how wrong it felt to wish he had. I couldn't tell Malorn that I liked him, even if I liked Nolan, and that I wished that he liked me, too.

"You ok?" Malorn suddenly looked concerned. I nodded quickly. "Tell me about your life was like on Earth." I raised an eyebrow at him; he had no idea what he was asking for. "Please?"

"Well, ok." I inhaled a deep, dramatic breath. "I lived in a small town, with a no-less-than-perfect family. We had a big home but it always felt… empty. Like, it was our house, but it wasn't our _home_. My older sister, the girl whose house we stayed in last night, is a movie star. She's extremely pretty and always got the guys in school that everyone wanted. Ever since she became famous, my life just… sucked."

"Why?" Malorn's voice was gentle as he peered down at me.

"Do you know what it's like to wake up every morning knowing that you will get called ugly that day? To expect people to be so horrid and malicious that you quit trying… everything?" I was in my own world again. I was watching things that had happened to me over the years: Ariel and her crew cutting my hair in seventh grade, the boys on the football team tripping me in the lunch room on my first day of ninth grade, and getting all my books knocked out of my hands, glasses broken, lunch ruined, and told how hideous I was after break in eleventh grade.

"Why would anyone call you ugly?" There was genuine surprise in his voice. I looked up at him to see if his surprise was real or not. It was.

"My sister was beautiful and I… I just wasn't. She was so skinny, tall, blonde, and had perfect skin and straight hair. I'm not that skinny, I'm short, I have brown hair, and I have blemished skin and mildly curly hair."

"You know," Malorn whispered, wrapping his arm around shoulders so that I leaned closer to him, "not all girls are skinny and tall, but not all guys _like _girls who are skinny and tall. Look, Susan's not super skinny and she's not all that tall, either. It just depends on the person you're talking to."

"I guess I just went to school with all the wrong people then…" I laughed a little, but fell quiet quickly.

"I guess you did." He laughed a little as well, making my head bounce on his shoulder as he did. "You're beautiful, Kymma."

I was too shocked to speak, much less say anything. He had turned, and was looking directly into my eyes. He went about this differently than Nolan did. Malorn was painstakingly careful and moved so slowly I was half tempted to check a clock. Nolan, on the other hand, was cocky and assumed that I wanted to kiss him, and he was allowing me to.

His face was just inches away from mine. I wasn't sure whether or not I was ok with him kissing me. He was even closer now. _Should I back away? _Malorn's nose touched mine. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Malorn?" I squeaked just before he kissed me. He blinked, seeming bewildered at first, but then he understood and sat back. He looked incredulously embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," He shook his head, "I thought…"

"No, I'm sorry." I whispered, running my fingers through my hair, "I'm just not ready for that yet…"

We sat in silence for a few moments. The awkwardness was more than I could handle. "Well, I probably need to get home and get some sleep. Long day tomorrow." He nodded in agreement and walked with me to the door. We didn't say much other than a polite 'good-night' before I left.

My life just kept getting more and more complicated.

* * *

**Sorry, I know it's short! And thanks for all the reviews you guys! Rachel Blake, I really appreciate all that! Thanks so much!**

**Well, R&R!  
**


	6. Soul Stealer

(Playlist: Slide- Goo Goo Dolls, Not Strong Enough- Apcolyptica, You Found Me- The Fray, Good Enough- Evanescence, Lullaby- Nickelback, Bully- Shinedown, Push- Matchbox 20, **AND AT THE END**, A Thousand Years- Christina Perri & Iris-Goo Goo Dolls)

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 6  
_Soul Stealer_

I woke up to hail banging against the windows of Susan's home. I was unsure of what to do at first. I could hear Susan yelling down the hall, something about how the weather was getting bad. I pushed the thick blanket off of me and jumped out of bed clumsy. Rain was beating against the weathered tin roof, making a horrid racket. I walked quickly down the hall, only to find Susan lounging on the couch with Boris sitting beside her. I glanced at the wooden clock on the wall furthest from me; it was three in the morning, and _Boris _was over?

"Look who came to watch the show!" Boris grinned at me, showing his perfect white teeth. Susan glanced over her shoulder at me, but said nothing. I walked over to the door to peek out the window beside it. I pulled the white lacy curtains aside; the street was dim, but not totally black like it was at home in this kind of storm. I looked back at Boris.

"What's up with the weather?" My voice was still laced with sleep; I yawned. "I didn't know it even rained here."

"Of course it rains here!" Boris waved his hand, and suddenly the banging against the roof stopped. My mouth fell open. "But, it doesn't if I don't want it to."

"How… You… Wha-?" I looked back out the window. It was still raining, but it was much lighter, and it started about fifteen feet from the house. Boris just reclined back in his seat.

"I needed to talk to you." He blinked back up at me, thick lashes casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Oh, great, you too?"

He laughed. "About Nolan." He looked at Susan and nodded. "Suzy wanted to talk with you as well."

I sat down as the two of them debated who wanted to talk first. Eventually, Susan snapped and forced Boris to begin. He sighed as he positioned himself for a long story-telling session, like how Emma used to do when we had camp outs. He started, "We wanted to talk about Nolan, since he seems to be warming up to you." Susan nodded in agreement; Boris continued, "Nolan has a very complicated past, and he's not just a jackass for no reason."

"You see, Kymma, a wizard's school is determined by parent's school. Our parents were two lives." I raised my eyebrow in confusion; Susan confirmed my suspicion, "My mother cheated on _my _father with Nolan's father. I honestly don't know who his father is. And, since cheating isn't a common thing here in Wizard City, Nolan has been shunned his entire life, up until about five years ago, when he was fourteen and met Malorn and Boris."

_Nolan's nineteen? _Boris broke through my thoughts. "He's a bit of jerk now, because of being picked on so for long. It's not something he can really help, but…" Boris shrugged, "kids are mean."

"Yeah," I agreed, recounting the number of times people had chalked up my problems to 'kids are mean'. It was an unfair statement.

"I wish I could have done something to help him out," Susan whispered, twirling her hair with her finger. "I used to walk with him to Myth school every day and just see kids _cutting _him with their looks. I never understood why, even though I knew it was weird that he was a conjurer. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. I loved Nolan." She whispered.

"Nolan didn't ask to be picked on, and being an ass was his only defense against it, but when he got older and the kids grew up and became more mature he should have stopped. But, Nolan didn't ever stop, and he became a bigger bully, to a certain degree, than those kids ever were. I've seen him get kids expelled over stupid stuff, just because he could."

"So, you're saying that Nolan's just a jerk?" I asked, bewildered that his closest friends would say that.

"No," Boris replied, "I'm saying Nolan's a nice guy under all those defense mechanisms, but if you get past all those, and you hurt him anyway…"

"There won't _be _a nice guy left in him. You'd crush the last piece of a soul he has left." Susan finished for him. Her light green eyes had gone impossibly dark, and she glared at me. She was a little scary in that moment. "I'm telling you now, Kymma, if you hurt my brother, I will rip your heart out and feed it to the gobblers."

Boris looked at her in bewilderment. Apparently this conversation had taken a turn he hadn't anticipated. "Susan, Kymma wouldn't—"

"You haven't seen her with Malorn, Boris."

I held my hands up, raising the white flag. "I'm not getting involved with—"

"I know you like the both of them; I can see it in your eyes." Susan spat at me, "I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that, but you need to decide before you break one of them."

"Are you done?" Boris asked, Susan nodded. She was smoothing down her skirt when Boris stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me out of my chair. Within minutes, he ported us.

I would never be used to the feeling of being ripped to pieces and reassembled. It was an unnatural thing, but so was most everything here. I kept my jaw clenched together the entire time, making an effort not to scream. I was getting better at pretending to be a wizard, even if I would never be one.

"Up you go," Boris smiled, pulling me to my feet. I opened my eyes to darkness and an incredible headache. We were in a cave, I could tell that much by the wind whistling in my ears and the cool moist feeling of the rock walls. The air was heavy with the familiar hot, sticky feeling of a summer night's rain. We must have been above ground, because the cave was relatively dry. I could make out the shapes of Malorn and Nolan.

Malorn was in his battle gear: an all-black armor outfit and a long broadsword that had shadowy tendrils waving off it. He had a big dragon ring wrapped around his ring finger that glimmered every few minutes, and a strange looking metal helmet. Nolan was also in his battle gear, though his was much different from Malorn's; he wore a yellow chain-mail tunic with light blue trim, clunky silver, metal boots, and—to my disappointment—a silver and blue, winged helmet. His hands were firmly clenched around a bow that emitted blue light. Nolan also had a strange little red ball floating around him.

"You never change, Boris." Nolan observed, shaking his head with a sigh. "You're no fun."

"I have no one to impress." Boris shot back with a little smirk at the shocked look plastered on Nolan's face. Boris must have been saving that comment for a while.

"Let's go." Malorn said with a quick eye roll. Boris whispered several words in a foreign language that reminded me of Latin. A pair of doors that I hadn't even noticed swung open with a loud creak as he finished his chant. Malorn and Nolan walked in first, with me third and Boris bringing up the back.

"Woah." Nolan whispered as we all piled into a large open area. There were six large, gleaming crystals. They were about eight feet tall, four feet in width, and were spewing colors into the air.

"Where are we?" I asked gently, as if a loud sound would shatter this beautiful image.

"These are the crystals that give us our powers." Nolan breathed from beside me. I glanced at him, and found myself unable to look away. His face was colored by the lights of the crystals, turning him random colors as if he was a replica of a club floor. He looked at me from the corner of his eye, and then turned to me. I could feel my heart skip a painful beat. I could see Boris and Malorn inspecting the yellow-emitting crystal from my peripheral vision. For a moment, I could see myself staying there with him. I could imagine Nolan leaning down to kiss me again, and me not running away this time. But imaging things like that were dangerous.

Nolan stopped clenching his bow so hard, and dropped his arms down to his sides. He reached his free hand up to my face and brushed an escaping piece of hair out of my eyes. His hand touched the side of my cheek gently. It made chill bumps run up my arms.

I actually couldn't move.

"Look at this thing!" Boris yelled from the yellow crystal. I jumped a little and looked over at them. Malorn was watching us wordlessly while Boris inspected the Myth crystal. Nolan's hand fell away from my face, shattering the tranquility that had hung over us for a moment. I looked back to him, but he had already started over to them. I followed him, watching my feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"What's wrong with it?" Nolan asked, clearing his throat.

"I don't know, but it's dark." Boris's statement was correct. While the other crystals burned clearly and with pure color, the Myth crystal was barely a flicker with darkness swirling around inside of it. Nolan reached his free hand out to touch it, making the twisted vine ring he wore turn bright from the heat. He cussed under his breath as he yanked it off his finger.

I reached out to it, feeling the cool, rough texture of it under my fingers. I could hear Boris and Malorn gasp as I watched the darkness swirl around and up to my hand. I resisted the urge to pull away from it as the darkness crawled out the crystal and wrapped around my arm like a parasitic vine. Malorn yelled something and started toward me. Boris restrained him, and nodded to me. Nolan had cautiously walked over beside me, keeping an eye on Malorn. Boris couldn't restrain them both. Nolan watched the tendrils wrap around my arm and curl up toward my throat.

"Does it hurt?" He whispered, looking from the darkness to my eyes, and back to the darkness. I shook my head slightly, but didn't say a word. The shadowy vine wrapped around my neck, but not as tightly as I feared. Nolan grabbed me and pulled me away from the crystal. It glowed with its normal yellow color, without a spec of black. The shadow pulled away from me, with a noise that was similar to a hiss, and _poof! _was gone. Boris let go of Malorn, who recited a long string of curse words at his Storm-wielding friend.

I was tired, and felt like I had caught the flu. My muscles ached and I was extremely cold, even with Nolan's arm wrapped around me. Malorn walked over to where I was standing against Nolan with my arms pulled against myself tightly. His hand flew up to my forehead, supplying me with a fresh source of heat.

"You're warm." I practically purred against his hand.

He sighed. "She has a fever. We should get her to Wu."

Without much of a warning, my legs gave way beneath me. I could hear Nolan's bow clatter to the floor as he let go of it to catch me. He pulled me close to him, and I could see his head tilt up toward Malorn questioningly.

"Port." Malorn whispered, and he and Boris were gone. I could feel the air changing around us as Nolan prepared to port us.

"Your bow!" I coughed, pushing myself up to grab it. Nolan shook his head and pulled me closer to his chest.

"I'll buy a new one." Nolan breathed as the air shifted again. I struggled against him in an attempt to grab his bow. He let go of me, but sighed in agitation. "Kymma, you're sick! We _need_ to get you to Wu!"

"No," I replied, leaning back against him with his bow safely in my hand. His arms wrapped back around me, almost protectively. "I just need to take a nap."

"No," He shot back, "Wu. Now."

I looked up at him. His blue eyes stared down at me in angst. I reached up and plucked the winged helmet off his head, letting his black hair fall back down into his face. He raised an eyebrow at me. "I love your hair." I breathed, laying his helmet on the ground beside us. He sighed and hugged me.

"You know me and Malorn have the same hair, right?"

"Mm-hmm." I replied, closing my eyes against his chest. The chain-mail outfit was nowhere near as comfortable as his t-shirt I picked out for him.

"Why'd you leave that night?" He asked gently, peering down at me. My body went stiff at the question. How could I even answer that? 'I wasn't sure if I liked you more than Malorn' or 'I didn't feel like I was worthy of being kissed'? The darkness of the cave suddenly shifted, as if it had grown progressively darker where we were sitting. I was at a loss for words when he sighed and picked his helmet back up and put in on. I sat up and looked at him dizzily.

"What are you doing?"

"We're leaving." He snapped back, plucking his bow from my hands. I couldn't keep the hurt look off my face. I couldn't stop the pain that spread through my body, either. My heart felt like it audibly cracked.

"You're not the only one who been picked on, Nolan Stormgate." I shot back, making his head snap up to look at me. His eyes narrowed. I wasn't right in saying what I said. I shouldn't have said it.

But I did.

"Who told you?"

"That doesn't matter, Nolan." I backed away from him, feeling the iciness radiating off of him in the air.

"Kymma..." He sounded like my mother before she was about to ground me. My name was warning like a rattler on a rattlesnake. I was too dizzy to stand or move farther away from him, he was already close enough to me for me to see the dots of color in his eyes.

"Nolan," I started, but he interrupted me.

"That's _my _history, and if I wanted you to know about it, then _I _would have told you." He was glaring down at me.

"I'm not telling you."

"Fine." He breathed against my face, causing the hair to stand on end on the back of my neck. I leaned away from him, not sure what I was expecting him to do. "You're not a very smart girl, Kymma."

"What?" Was that seriously the best he could? Insult me?

"Being here all alone." His eyes flashed darkly, "It's like you trust me."

_Ok, now he's freaking me out_. Without thinking, of course, I blurted out: "I do trust you, Nolan."

He grinned, blue eyes growing increasingly darker. "You shouldn't. I haven't given you a reason to."

He was right. He had never given me a reason to trust him. _So, why do I trust him? _I rolled me eyes at him and leaned forward in an attempt to throw him off and make him quit the act before he seriously freaked me out. "What's the worse you're going to do? Kiss me?"

He leaned back a little too, but still grinned. "Was that an invitation?"

I froze, not expecting that. "Uh…"

He leaned forward enough to make me stop breathing correctly. "Because," He paused and looked up into my eyes, "I _could _do a lot worse."

Nolan's eyes widened and he was suddenly yanked away from me. There was a loud crack. I jerked my head up to see Malorn standing over him with a look of pure disgust. A shadow slinked out of Nolan's mouth and across the floor; Boris jumped out of nowhere and struck it with a long, glowing white sword. It disintegrated. I looked between the two of them, and Nolan knocked out cold on the floor.

"You ok?" Malorn's voice was gentle, probably because I was ghost white and hugged up against a big rock.

"That was powerful, dark magic." Boris explained; he glanced over at Nolan's unconscious body.

"Is he ok?" I asked, panicking.

Malorn nodded. "Yeah, I just knocked him out."

"So… That wasn't _him_, right?" I asked, relaxing a little against the cold floor of the cave.

Boris sat down beside me and nodded. "Yes, it was like a possession. That particular type of hex isn't very common, so I'm not sure what it does, but those are basically possession hexes."

* * *

"He'll probably be up in a few days. The _animus rapio_ drained a lot of his energy." Professor Wu stated as she wrapped a bandage around Nolan's chest from the wound Malorn gave him.

"Animus rapio?" I asked from my little perch on the bay window by Nolan's bed. I had been in his room for a few hours now, being tended to and such by Wu. The robe-wearing cow-lady nodded to me as she concentrated on her bandage work.

"Animus rapio is very old magic, used back in the ancient days when Earth was still in contact with Wizard City, that finds a host and deliberately destroys everything the host loves or holds dear." She paused and turned to me, "It was once a Balance spell, created by an outcast who wanted revenge on his enemies. It means 'soul stealer'."

I nodded to her, but didn't respond. Word had gotten out that we had fixed the Myth school's trouble, but now everyone thought I could 'suck' the magic out of them just like I had done the crystals. So, I had hid in Nolan's room with Wu.

"Everything he said and did while under this hex he did not mean, Kymma." I looked up to see Wu staring at me. I nodded, and looked back at the ground. My throat swelled in an attempt to hold back my tears. I knew Nolan didn't mean any of that, but that didn't mean I didn't _see _Nolan do and say everything he did.

"He might not have any recollection of it when he wakes up." She whispered, brown cow eyes fixed on me.

"Can you make _me _not have any recollection of it?" I was only half joking.

"I'm afraid not." She laughed gently. Wu said some other unimportant things before she walked out. I was unsure whether I should stay or not, but sitting in a room with an unconscious Nolan was better than walking outside with everyone giving me a five foot wake because of my 'magic-stealing-abilities'.

I got up and walked over to Nolan's bedside. Boris and Malorn had changed him into the only pajama like things they could find: the black t-shirt I got him and a pair of something similar to gym shorts. He was sleeping under a big green blanket on an intricately crafted wooden sleigh-style bed. His black, curly-looking hair was spread out on his green pillow case. His bedroom resembled a forest, with rather realistic-looking tree wallpaper and faux grass carpet.

"You're so beautiful." I whispered, pushing a piece of black hair out of his face. It was easier to do these kinds of things when he was asleep, because if I fell for Malorn instead, he would never remember it. Nolan never stirred. I brushed his hair down with my fingers; his hair was so silky. I couldn't imagine why any kid would _ever _pick on Nolan. It made me wish he would have summoned me when he was little, so I could beat the living hell out of those kids for being such idiots.

It was hard to recall how his mouth turned up in that sinister grin only a few hours ago. He seemed so innocent now, sleep made him look harmless. He didn't have his eyebrows furrowed or frown-lines from trying too hard to be serious and emotionally distant.

It was easier to see the real Nolan when he was asleep.

"I don't know why you try so hard." I whispered, kneeling beside his bed to look at his face. I don't know how long I sat there, face on my hands, staring at an unconscious Nolan Stormgate. I just know that at some point someone knocked on the door. I sighed and stood up just as the door opened. It was Malorn.

I didn't realize that I had been crying until he walked in and looked at me with something similar to pity.

"You ok?"

"No," I breathed. Malorn walked to me with his arms out. We stood there for a few minutes, just hugging, until he pulled away from me.

"Kymma," He whispered, grabbing me by the arms, "Did he hurt you?"

"Not physically, no." I whispered back. _But he broke my heart into little bitty pieces. _

"Ok." He breathed in relief, "Thought I was gonna have to kill him for a minute there." I laughed at the thought of Malorn killing one of his best friends.

"You know," He whispered, "I'll always be here if you need me."

"I know," I whispered. He nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him. I glanced at the clock; it was nearly eleven at night. It didn't feel like I had even been awake that long, much less like all of this had taken place in that time frame. _I should probably get home._

Wait, I couldn't go home. What if the animus rapio came back for Nolan? I went back to my little perch on the bay window and rearranged all the throw pillows Susan had piled up for me. I could see a cover sticking out from under Nolan's bed, so I grabbed it and laid down on the throw pillows.

I'd kill that damn animus rapio if it came back here again.

**A/N: :O That's almost ten pages! Almost four thousand words! Gosh, you guys are being so nice! I've never gotten such wonderful feedback on story! Y'all just make my day every time I read a review! So, I've got to respond to some of them :D**

Firestorm Nauralagos: Thank you! I like my insane love triangle too! I have seen a ton of bad love triangles as well. I hate that.

BlackRoseNecromancer: Yup, Malorn's all touchy! Aw, thank you! I'm glad it's helped some!

Galactica Z. Stellar: Thank you! Lol, it's ok, I get all drooly, too.


	7. Remembering

(Playlist: Iris- Goo Goo Dolls, Broken-Seether,Lullaby- Nickelback, Landing in London-3 Doors Down, Snow Patrol-Chashing Cars, You and Me- Lifehouse, The Crow And The Butterfly-Shinedown.)

**Warning: If you do not mushy scenes: SKIP THIS CHAPTER AND READ THE BOTTOM A/N!**

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 7  
_Remembering _

I was standing in the tiny kitchen of Nolan's house, working on breakfast and attempting to stay warm. I had no idea how to work the thermostat in his house, and I was freezing half to death. The kitchen had rich, dark wood floors that did nothing but suck the heat out of me. It took me forever to figure out how the stove worked. It wasn't electric, but it also didn't run on gas. It was similar to a wood stove, without the wood. There was a long, slender metal pipe that ran through the middle of it, behind some tiny iron work doors, and to the stove eyes. That metal pipe was apparently combustible and roared to life as soon as a flame came near it.

The pans here were also tricky. They almost moved on their own, and would if prompted to do so. I hummed one of my favorite songs as I watched the pan flip the eggs. I was leaned up against one of the blue-green sea colored counter tops that lined the stove. The counters had tiny bits of seashells in them. They resembled waves so closely that I wondered if they had been charmed to wave like them.

I glanced at the window above the stove. The sun was barely peeking out over the tree tops in the distance, turning the sky a pink-purple color that faded into a deep blue. I couldn't help but wonder if my parents were watching the sun rise too. They should be up at this hour, enjoying their morning coffee and buzzing about how well Emma's latest audition went. I slept poorly, and was sure to have dark bags under my eyes. I gave up on sleep at about four and got up.

"That looks tasty." I jumped so hard I jarred my teeth. My body spun around to find Nolan leaned against the counter opposite me. His head was cocked in what appeared to be a question, but he said nothing more. We stood there for a few minutes; my hands were clasped tightly around the counter's edge.

"You weren't supposed to awake for days." I stated, bewildered. Nolan swung himself up onto the counter to sit facing me. His hair was messed up from sleep, and his t-shirt was wrinkled. He looked at me with a face similar to humor.

"I recover fast. I have a long line of theurgist blood in my family." He winked and then chuckled to himself.

"Oh," I whispered, relaxing now that I was sure he was back to normal. A question stung the back of my mind. "How much do you… remember?"

"Well," He paused and looked up at the ceiling, "I remember you flirting with me."

"I wasn't flirting!" I said defensively, wrapping my arms around myself.

He smiled, and continued, "I remember you fixing the crystal, and then you got sick." He closed his eyes as if he was in deep thought. "We were supposed to port to Professor Wu. We didn't and I asked…"His voice trailed away from him. He looked back down at me. "I… I asked..."

"Why I ran away that night." I finished for him, avoiding his gaze. Honesty bubbled up in my throat, burning my eyes as I attempted to hold it back. I couldn't tell Nolan all that. I couldn't make myself look that vulnerable.

"Yeah," He whispered. The room was silent for a few moments. "Then something black came at me and I couldn't control myself anymore…" He paused as I looked back up at him. There was pain on his face, like a living thing that distorted his expression. "It was like a flashback; I knew what was going on, but I couldn't change anything. I couldn't _control_ anything."

"I knew it wasn't you." I lied through my teeth. I thought it was him until I was told otherwise. There was no point in making him feel worse than he already did.

"No, you didn't." I looked up at him as he spoke. Unwelcomed tears stung my eyes. "You can't control you telepathy as well as you think you can."

_Oh, crap. _"Well…" I sighed, watching the pan continued to flip the now overcooked eggs. My vision was foggy, but I didn't want to cry in front of Nolan. That would be too embarrassing.

"I'm sorry, about everything." He whispered, as if all the pride had been knocked out him. I couldn't keep myself from looking at him. He was so forlorn, as if someone had just murdered his family. I started toward him; I needed a hug as bad as he did. He pushed himself off the counter in time for me to wrap my arms around his neck. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry about your bow." I breathed as a tear trickled down my cheek and onto Nolan's shirt. He pulled away from me for a moment and shook his head.

"I don't care about that damn bow, Kym." He whipped off the tears that were streaming down my face. I couldn't hold everything in anymore. I couldn't keep being strong for everyone because I couldn't handle breaking.

For once in my life, I _deserved _to break.

"I'm so sorry about everything I said." He whispered, pushing the messy hair out my face and behind my ear. "…about everything I did."

"It was a hex; you couldn't help it."

"I… I had to watch the panic in your eyes…" He shook his head, "I had to see the fear written all over your face. It makes me sick to just remember it."

"Nolan-" I started, but he cut me off.

"And you know what the worst part is?" Tears lined the rims of his eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment, like a dam pushed to its limit. "There was some part of me that almost _enjoyed _that."

"Nolan," I grabbed his face, forcing his back to reality and shutting him up. "It was a hex. No part of _you _enjoyed that, no part of _you _wanted to hurt me or say any of the things you said, that was all part of the hex." Tears spilled down his cheeks, forcing mine to start up again. I sighed and leaned my head back against his chest. We stood there for a while, just hugging each other.

The kitchen was totally silent. Nolan and waved his hand and forced the pan to stop and made the stove go off at once. There wasn't much light, except from the window. He didn't say anything for a long time, just held me against him as if he had been asleep for months instead of a day.

"I didn't feel like I deserved it." I whispered. He pulled away from me and raised an eyebrow at me. His face went rigid again; he looked like the Nolan I had met my first day in Wizard City, all angles and eyebrows and questioning looks. It was odd how slowly he had changed so that I barely had noticed it. His face was much softer now, and his eyebrows stayed more relaxed instead of shooting up every time someone spoke.

"What?"

"Why I ran away that night… I didn't feel like I deserved it." His face softened back into the Nolan I had grown accustomed to. His shoulders relaxed a little bit and he shook his head. I continued, knowing I would have to sooner or later, "And… I didn't want to _hurt _you, Nolan. You mean a lot to me… But Malorn…" I sighed and bit my lip, it was a nervous habit of mine, "Malorn means a lot to me too, and I don't want to get confused and hurt one of you."

He took that with more grace than I expected, but it did manage to break our embrace. He leaned back against the counter; arms folded and stared me down expectantly. I was unsure of what else to say.

"Well?" He asked. When I gave him a blank look, he rolled his eyes and went on, "Do you love him?"

I froze. _Do I? How could I? Maybe? _I could feel my mouth drop open. "How am I supposed to know that?"

"That's fairly simple," Nolan's blue eyes were dark with what appeared to be anger and his voice was laced with venom. Typical Nolan. "Could you imagine spending the rest of your life with him? Do you _want _to kiss him? Would you stay here for _him _and him alone?"

"I…" I gawked at Nolan, "I don't know."

"I'll tell you right now, Kymma Dawn-"

"That's another thing," I sighed, "My last name is really Richardson, I just wanted to be someone different than the lame Kymma Dawn I was at home." I looked down at my feet as the truth spilled out of me. "I didn't want to be the ugly sister of a movie star anymore."

"Kymma," He whispered, voice gone all soft and quiet again, as he pulled my face back up to look at him. "You're not the ugly sister of a famous movie star. You're not the ugly sister of _anyone_. Everything that kid said to you was because they were _jealous_. They envied you because you had everything they didn't. They took the only thing away from you they could: your self-esteem." I gawked at him, bewildered that he knew all of this. He sighed and dropped his hands back down to his side. "I know that care about Malorn, and I know that you're confused because you like both of us. I'm not going to try to persuade you or anything."

"Nolan…" I whispered, shaking my head gently, "Don't do this."

"No, you need to know." His voice was still empathetic, but it was stern. I was going to hear this even if I didn't want to. "I know more about you than Malorn will ever _care _to know about you. Look at how he is with Susan. He cares, yeah, but he doesn't know anything about her." He paused, and pulled me closer to him. I couldn't help staring into his eyes. "Kymma, I know _everything _about you. I care about you so much; this is _killing _me."

"Nolan," I whispered, he didn't allow me anytime to talk before he started again.

"But, I want you to be happy. So, if Malorn makes you happy, then for Bartleby's sake, be with Malorn." He stopped for a moment to brush another strand of hair from my face, "But if there's ever a single doubt in your mind that I might can be the one you pick…"

"Nol-"

"Then at least tell me so I can try. I just want to make you happy, Kym. And I know I'm not the show-stopping gorgeous Malorn Ashthorn, but-"

And I kissed him.

It wasn't the fairytale storybook kind of kiss. More of a shut-up-and-listen-to-me kiss. I couldn't help wrapping my arms back around his neck. It wasn't my intention, but it just sort of happened. He pulled me closer to him and held me tight. It was hard to imagine that my first kiss was in a different world with a wizard that could win a stare down contest with a snake. It was hard to imagine my first kiss at all. It took my brain while to process everything that happened. His right hand was on my lower back and his left hand was knotted into my hair. My hands were in his pretty black hair, twirling it around my fingers. He leaned closer against me, practically bending me backwards. Someone we had ended up beside the stove, where I originally standing before he walked in, and he had pushed me against the counter. He was gentle, but not painstakingly so. Nolan wasn't as careful with me as Malorn was. Malorn annoyed me when he acted like I might break at any moment. Nolan knew I was stronger than I appeared. He pulled away from me for second to breathe, but I pulled him back. He muttered something against my lips, but I didn't care enough to stop and ask what he said. Nolan pulled away from me first, breath a tad ragged and fast. He did his trademark eyebrow raise in question. I couldn't help smiling.

I kissed Nolan Stormgate.

"What," He started, still attempting to catch his breath, "Was… That?"

I honestly didn't have an answer for that question. So, I just continued to grin at him. He stared at me, obviously not moving until he got an answer. So, I said the first thing that came to mind: "You said you wanted to make me happy." I paused, knowing this was going to sound stupid and sappy. "And you're what makes me happy, Nolan."

He held his hand out; I took it without much thought. He pulled me closer to him, closing what space was still between us. He didn't smile, but he actually looked grim. "You know we can't do that again, right?"

"Why?" I was a little taken aback. _Was he not the one who tried to kiss me first? Is he rejecting me? _My heart sank.

"No," He laughed a little, "I'm not rejecting you. It's just that you can't pick between me and Malorn if we're… kissing. And, I don't even want to talk about how we're going to have to even out the playing field here."

The thought of kissing Malorn made my stomach knot up. I didn't really _want _to kiss him. I sighed and looked at the ground.

"Hey," He whispered, forcing my gaze back up to him. "I'm not saying we can't ever kiss again… Just not until you decide. It would be unfair."

"And since when do you care about things being unfair?" I laughed a little, earning myself a smile from him. He sighed and laid his forehead against mine. It was so strange to me how _easy _this was. It was like I had known him my entire life, not just for a few weeks.

"I'm trying to be a better person," He smiled, closing his eyes. "Don't tempt me." I closed my eyes too, comfortable with just standing there with him forever. But, I knew that Boris and Malorn would be here in a few hours to bring me to Ambrose. He wanted to try to tap into my magic today. I couldn't imagine being able to focus on magic. Not after everything that had happened this morning.

"Was that really your first kiss?"

I glared up at him. "How can I make you _not _read my mind?"

"You can't." He smiled and kissed my cheek. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to get an answer out of me.

"Yes, it was. Happy now?"

He sighed in thought. "Well, that was a sucky first kiss. I was supposed to kiss you, not the other way around."

"Do I get a redo?" I grinned a little. It was odd how I felt like a different person now. I felt like how I did when Emma and I were little, and she was just my sister, and we were just the Richardson's kids. I felt like me again.

"Maybe in a few weeks." He whispered. My heart sank. _What if I'm not _here _in a few weeks?_

* * *

**A/N: Just a little recap for anyone who didn't want to read the mushyness, Nolan really cares about Kymma, she told him that she liked Malorn too, and they kissed.**_  
_

**So, how'd you guys that read this like it? R&R people :D  
**


	8. Evanescent

(Playlist: Fences-Paramore, Lips of an Angel-Hinder, Sick-Adelitas Way, Mr. Brightside-Killers (**Mostly Nolan's song for Kym and Malorn**), Apologize-One Republic)

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 8  
_Evanescent_

I had spent most of my day remembering that morning. It was impossible to put it out of my head. I could still remember the warmth of his hand against my back and forehead against my own. I sighed as I tapped the makeshift wand on the table. All seven of the school teachers sat in the front of the classroom. We were in the Ice school. Ambrose had decided that my magic was just buried deep inside me, and we had to figure out how to get it out. Ambrose was sitting between the teachers, four on his left and three on his right. His wrinkled hands were a perch for his slightly lopsided, large head. His bead was stuffed under his hands—probably to keep from being too cold, it was frigid—and fell to the desk in a spiral. Professor Greyrose hovered impatiently to his left, looking over her spectacles at my work.

"Any luck over there, honey?" Her voice was light and crisp, like a nice day in autumn. I looked up at her, shaking the thought of Nolan and me for a few moments. I must have been very obvious about my lack of attention; she looked a bit disappointed and hung her head. I sighed, straightening my back as I had been instructed, and raised the hickory shafted wand Ambrose had provided me with. I imagined the intricate snowflake symbol that triggered the Ice school spells.

Ambrose had explained this process to me when Malorn and Boris brought me to his office. There was a lot that went into this process. First, he said the wand he gave me was made of hickory, which is a big conductor of magic. He told me that it would feed off of the magic crystals we had seen before, and would be easy to learn with, but would not be very powerful. Ambrose told me the entire, drawn out history behind the symbols that each school used, and why Nolan and the others didn't have to use the symbols to cast a spell. Apparently, they only needed to use symbols for very high power spells because it concentrates their power. That explained why they ported so easy and so forth.

I concentrated on first forming the circle; a simple task for anyone who could make ice appear out of thin air. Frustrated, I slammed the wand back on to the deck and crossed my arms. Ambrose sighed and pressed his forehead to his folded hands. Greyrose, more empathetic than anyone else in the room, fluttered over to the edge of my desk.

"Kymma," She whispered, looking at me with big, blue eyes, "Why don't we wait until you're more focused." I nodded and put the wand on the desk as I stood. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "We've all had to go through times like this, sweetheart. I can only imagine the problems those boys are giving you." I jerked my head up, surprised. She simply smiled in understanding and nodded. "Better take that wand with you."

I nodded to her. "Thanks, Professor." She smiled at me as I opened the door. The light outside smacked me in the face, blinding me for a short time. I teared up at the sudden brightness of the ongoing day. Apprentices and those called Novices bumbled and stumbled around looking for their next class. A few hollered back and forth to each other about their homework and what to do that night. I had lost track of the days since I left Earth. I couldn't remember how many days had gone by anymore.

"Kymma!" Malorn's voice cut through the humming of the crowd. He pushed through the collection of people, knocking over a theurgist or two as he went. I smiled at him, back to normal with his jester hat and black get up. His eyes were dark from lack of sleep, and his face was thoroughly flushed.

"Malorn!" I laughed as he picked me up in a hug, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," He sighed and let go of me. "I, uh… Just talked to Nolan." He shoved his hands into his pockets and pushed the dirt around with his boots. I blushed a little at the thought of the two of them talking about our kiss.

"About…?" I prodded, rocking back on my heels. I had stolen some of Susan's robes that looked the most normal. He glanced up at me, blush turning his pale face a shade of pink. I avoided eye contact.

"You know…" He bit his lower lip, "about you two." He paused. "And us."

"_Us_?" I raised an eyebrow. There was no 'us'. There was just Malorn and me. I tucked a loose strand of my hair—my bun was unusually messy today—behind my ear and cleared my throat. Silence engulfed us, creating an awkward barrier between us.

He took a step forward. "About you liking me." He continued, "and about how you're confused."

"Malorn this really isn't the place for this." I shook my head, glancing at the gathering on lookers. He followed my gaze and nodded, holding his pale hand out to me. It felt strange, foreign even, to take his hand after everything this morning. It was even more so when I was attempting to fix my scraggly hair after Nolan and I kissed and Malorn coming up and knocking on the door. I think Nolan purposely left his disheveled hair the way it was just for sheer spite. Malorn's eyebrow had instantly shot up. It was cruel in a way, but there was a part of me that smiled at knowing Malorn was thrown for a loop.

When my hand was firmly placed in his clammy, pale hand we ported. It still had weird effects on me, but I had gotten a little used to the queasy feeling that came with porting. We were standing at the gated entrance to a grave yard with a big, black mansion sitting in the middle of it. Malorn pulled me down the cobblestone sidewalk and into the house. I noted that all the headstones had sunck into the ground unevenly and left them lopsided and old. Fog had hovered over the ground eerily. It was a bone-chilling place.

Malorn yanked the door open with a fierceness that surprised me. He pulled my inside and slammed the door shut. His grip on my wrist was so tight I attempted to pull it out of his grasp. He pulled me closer to him. Fear clutched my stomach.

"Do you really like me?" His eyes were darker than normal, more black than the steely gray I was used to. He pulled me against him differently than Nolan did. Nolan had at least been gentle and a tad careful with me. I didn't want to be treated like fine china, but I certainly didn't want to be jerked around like rope. I pulled my arm away from him, rubbing my wrist where the indentions of his fingers remained.

"Yeah," I muttered, looking up into his eyes. Suddenly, he grabbed my waist and pulled my face closer to his. I blinked at the sudden surprise. Malorn had been so gentle. _What is wrong with him?_

_I told him you like bad boys. _

I jumped slightly, launching my body away from Malorn's. He looked a little hurt but said nothing, and also didn't let go._ Nolan!_ I tried to keep from glaring as I thought to him. _Why in the hell did you do that?_

_Well, you do. It's not my fault he sucks at being a bad boy._

I sighed. Malorn misinterpreted that and pulled me back to him. I had to actually attempt to _not _roll my eyes. Malorn brushed my hair out of my face. _Nolan, I swear to God. You were _not _supposed to tell him that! _I waited for an answer. But, alas, no answer came. Nolan's voice didn't spring up out of the dark corners of my mind. Malorn was still holding me and attempting to make sure I was comfortable and really did like him.

"Yes, Malorn, I like you." I sighed, leaning my head against his chest. He was quite a bit taller than me, and even a few inches taller than Nolan. "And I really am confused."

"I like you, too." He whispered, combing his fingers through my hair. "I have ever since the day you popped up here." Then he tilted my head back up to him, eyes scanning my face and eventually stopping on my mouth. "Let me unconfuse you."

For some reason, the kiss was easy. I didn't want to fight it as much as I thought I would. His lips were chapped and rough, but I didn't care. I needed the comfort that came with kisses. I needed someone to hold me and make sense of everything for me. I wanted to feel loved.

"Kymma," He breathed, pulling away from me a few seconds into the kiss. I blinked, bewildered. "We're standing in hallway in front of the door. Don't you want to sit or something?"

I simply nodded. My legs were tired. He pulled me into the living room, much gentler this time, and sat down on the big tan sofa. I smiled and sat beside, a little unsure of what to do. He held his arms out to me. I let him hug me and pull me closer to him. Malorn said nothing else this time between our kisses. I personally found it unfair that we were practically making out and Nolan and I had hardly even gotten a good kiss in. It was different with Malorn than it was with Nolan. I didn't have that white hot flame with Malorn; I wasn't really driven to kiss him over and over. I was driven to feel better. That was all I cared about.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered, pulling the ponytail holder out of my hair and releasing a cascade of curly hair. My red flags didn't go up until he pushed me down against the couch and tugged at my shirt a little. I shook my head a little and pulled his hands back up to my face and tried to sit back up.

"Malorn, quit." I scolded him when he pulled at my T-shirt again.

"Kym," He groaned protestingly. I stated 'no' again very firmly. He sighed and nodded. He still didn't let me sit back up. _God, Malorn, get off me._ I rolled my eyes in my head. There was the strangest feeling in the back of my mind. It was impossible to describe. It was like the alien feeling of telepathy, but this wasn't a voice or words… it was feelings and emotions rolled up together. There was the suffocating feeling of jealousy and the mind-numbing red hot flash of anger. Then I realized something.

Nolan could feel and hear everything I was thinking.

And it was killing him.

I pushed Malorn backward with strength I didn't know I had. He caught himself and looked at me, stunned. I muttered an apology and ran out of the house. I could hear him yelling for me, but I couldn't stop running. I was very good at running. I had been running away from my life for so long it was a natural habit. I didn't stop until I found myself standing at the entrance to the Ravenwood Dorms. I quickly walked into the boys', ignoring the stares and raised eye brows. Boris was in room 142, just as he had once mentioned some time ago. I knocked on the door as quietly as I could. Boris would know what do.

"Hel—Kymma?" Boris's reaction was strange. It was like he had just seen a ghost. "Are you ok? Come in, come in." I didn't realize until he asked me that I had been crying. Mascara ran down my cheeks and splattered onto my gray T-shirt. I sat down on his bed in the corner, bawling my eyes out. He sat beside me and patted my back. Ryan, to my surprise, was sitting on the couch in front of me asking Boris what was going on. I had no idea she was here.

"Kymma, what did those boys do to you?" Ryan's voice was gentle and understanding, and it just made me cry even harder.

"I love them both." I whispered. Boris jumped and gasped. Ryan, on the other hand, simply nodded and informed me that she already knew that.

"You love them both, but you're _in love _with one of them, Kym. You just need to figure out which one."

I wasn't sure how that helped, but somehow, it did.

* * *

**Sorry I was gone for so long you guys! I've had a very, very depressing last few weeks. This would be longer, but I feel too bad to write anything longer. Don't worry; I'll still update I'll just be slow :D The only good thing is: I was unsure how I was going to write some of this (I don't have a lot of boyfriend experience, lol, and still don't) but I at least know how to write heartbreak :/ Good luck with that one, Kym! Anyway, can't wait to hear what you guys think!**


	9. Im backkkkk!

Ok, so I'm thinking about continuing this. I still love this story. So, my question is if I continue it will you guys read it? Is it intresting anymore?


	10. Paramour

**Beautifully Dark ****Places**

Chapter 9

_Paramour_

(A/N: CLIMAX BEGINS! DUN DUN DUNNNNNN)

The way I felt that night was as equally impossible to describe as blue or air. It was a mix of things: hurt, confusion, love, and fear. But I could never tell someone how that sick, twisted feeling in my stomach made me feel. I kept what Ryan had said in mind; I knew she was right. I didn't know how in the world I was going to figure out which one of them I was in love with, but I'd figure it out. I had stayed with Boris for the night, assuming I was probably no longer allowed to stay with Susan. I figured she would hate me for hurting Nolan… and Malorn. I didn't have us pegged for best friends in the near future.

Boris was very nice about everything, especially after I told him what had happened. Boris was sort of a middle ground between the boys and me. I sighed, it was nearly three in the morning and I still hadn't gotten a lick of sleep. Boris had kept me up until one with his theories of things I could do to figure out who I wanted. One of which consisted of me having them fight to the death. Ryan had left at eleven thirty when she knew Boris wasn't going to shut up. Ryan was the smart one.

I sighed._ I'm not getting any sleep tonight._ Part of me waited for the sound of Nolan's smart ass remark. To my dismay, none came. I found myself longing for his presence again, in a way I couldn't really describe. I assume it's something similar to texting a boy and getting no response. I pulled the staticy blanket up to nose. Boris was a storm, so everything that stayed with hi for a long time got electici-fied.

_Nolan_? The room went cold. My whole body went cold. Not the oh-I-forgot-to-turn-the-heat-on-and-it's-3AM kind of cold but something… unnatural, almost ghostly. Old fashion Interview with the Vampire's vampire kind of cold. I shook my head, as if that would chase away my fear.

"Boris?" I whispered to the boy spread eagle on the bed across the room. "Boris, wake up!"

"Huh?" He jerked awake, almost falling off the bed. "Wha?"

"Do you feel that?" I asked him. The window at the end of the room had started to frost over. He looked at it, and then back at me. Panic splashed across his face, and then something near realization.

"That's… That's you"

I froze. "What do you mean?" Boris jumped up as I spoke and shoved his shirt on. He motioned for me to do the same. I shrugged, already wearing my clothes, and got out of bed.

"What were you thinking about just then?"

"How stupid this is."

"No, before. When the window frosted over." Boris rolled his eyes at me.

"Uh…" My voice trailed off in embarrassment, "Nolan. He was ignoring me… and it hurt." The room's temperature dropped steeply again.

"We need to get you to Ambrose. Your powers are surfacing."

That one little sentence sent my emotions into a spiral.

I crumpled to the floor. Powers._ I have… Powers._ In reality, the powers didn't thrill me as much as knowing that this was somewhere I could belong. I wasn't really aware of Boris picking me up, nor did I really recognize Ambrose's office when we walked up to it. I heard Boris talking, but the words didn't register in my mind. I was on cloud nine. I had powers. I could be a student; I would never have to go back to Earth. I could live in Wizard City for the rest of my life with… with whoever I wanted to live with. I was free from persecutions here. I was free from the cheerleaders and the taunts I had to live with there. I was a glorified citizen of Wizard City.

And I was never going back.

"What's wrong with her?" I heard Boris's voice.

"She's in a sort of shock." Ambrose chuckled, "Wu said when she found her trigger she go into this. Let her rest, let her rest."

"Will she be ok here?" Boris asked quietly as I felt him lower me onto something soft. "Should I stay?"

"You can if you'd like, Boris." Ambrose nodded, and sat back down at his desk. Boris sat down at a chair close to the bed-like thing I was on. The two said nothing more. It was oddly quiet here. Normally, Ambrose's office was full of Novice's who just signed into Ravenwood. I could hear the constant tick-tock of a clock somewhere in the room. I didn't bother to look for it. I smiled. I was finally here for something good; not because I couldn't activate a simple symbol but because I froze an entire room.

I thought back to Nolan. _Will he know I'm here?_ I paused to ponder the question. He could ask Borris. Borris could—and probably would—go and find both Malorn and Nolan in the morning to tell them. _Will they care?_ I sighed in exasperation. Was it so easy to kill someone's feelings for you? Could everything I did leave me without either of them? My questions tired me out. I couldn't possibly answer them.

"Kym?" Borris's voice was gentle as I felt his weight push the bed down beside me. I didn't bother to look at him. "I'm going to go check on Ryan… Do you want me to get someone for you?"

_Nolan_. That was my first thought. I didn't want Boris going and begging Nolan to come and sit with me. I could barely focus on my thoughts, much less a conversation. I shook my head at him. He got up, and I heard the door shut behind him.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like Mr. Ashthorn or Mr. Stormgate here?" Ambrose's sweet voice asked from his side of the room.

I forced myself to speak. "I don't want to bother them."

He laughed. "I'm sure it wouldn't be a bother, Miss Dawn."

"Richardson." I corrected him gently.

The room went silent for a few moments. "Do you want to be called Richardson?"

"It was my last name on Earth… I just… I wanted to start over."

He peered at me for a few seconds before he responded: "But what do you want to be called."

I thought the question over for a while. Savored it. I considered all of my possibilities. And then: "Dawn. Kymma Dawn. Kymma Richardson died the moment I stepped in Ravenwood."

He nodded, as if in agreement. "You're very strong, Kymma Dawn."

* * *

I opened my eyes to see Boris sitting in the chair again. I blinked a few times, and stretched. The bed was incredibly uncomfortable, and my back was killing me. I yawned.

"Good morning." Boris smiled a little. I smiled back and pushed myself off of the bed.

"Good morning, Boris." I stretched again. "Is Ryan coming?"

His look faltered. "I—uh—I don't know?" I gave him a confused look, and heard the door open. Malorn walked in, and I noticed Nolan had been standing in the corner. The two looked very different than yesterday. Malorn was wearing robes I hadn't seen before: black trimmed with a rich gold color and hood that covered his mouth as well as his hair. His eyes looked slightly saddened, they were an odd gray color. Nolan looked like a wreck. His robes were the ones he'd worn the day before, and his eyes were red and puffy looking. They too had turned a slate gray color.

"Hey…" I whispered, looking down at my feet. Nolan said nothing, Malorn muttered a hello, and took a seat beside Boris.

"You talk in your sleep." Boris whispered without looking at me.

"I had nightmares." I replied.

"We have bad news." Boris whispered, still not looking at me. He continued before I could ask. "The Myth students are not allowed to use magic again. Another Earthling was summoned last night."

"But—" I started, but Nolan interrupted me.

"The crystals were not the only thing that's been corrupted. Ambrose wants to see you when you're ready." He started to the door, and paused, "Don't include me in your battle plans… Or your thoughts."

Startled, I glanced from Boris and Malorn to Nolan. _Does he mean that?_ _How could he do that to me_? I got off of the bed and started to the door behind him. For a split second my stomach twisted up again. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart. I nearly hit the floor from the rush of pain and emotions.

Yes. I mean it.

Those were Nolan's feelings. He had opened the connection between us long enough to say that. I waited for the pain to disappear with the connection he had closed. But they didn't leave. My stomach clenched. I felt for the door handle. Pain seared in my chest. _Nolan, no_. I tried to pull the door open, it didn't budge. _Wait._ I pulled the door again. Still nothing. I was sobbing without even really realizing it. I felt someone's hands wrap around my waist and pull me backwards. I turned, tears streaming down my face and fogging up my vision.

"Kym," Malorn was the one holding me. He had gone back to his normal, gentle self. He pushed the hair out of my face and pinned it behind my ear. "Let him go." I could feel the heat radiating from my face from the drastic rise in my blood pressure. I shook my head, and pushed Malorn away from me. He looked at me, shocked.

Those three words lit a fire in my soul that words will never do justice.

"I love him!" I practically hissed. Malorn blinked, taken aback by my mood swing. I couldn't help it that losing Nolan would kill me. I breathed for a few moments in the silence, and then elaborated: "I'm in love with Nolan." Boris smiled, as if he had known it all along. Malorn, on the other hand, looked a combination of feral and hurt beyond belief. I sighed and hugged him. He didn't move. "I'm sorry Malorn. I love you. I'm just in love with Nolan." He nodded. I turned and finally managed to open that damn door. The town square was bustling with people. Some were on their way to the shopping district for new stuff; some new kids were headed off to Unicorn Way. I looked around for Nolan; surely he couldn't have just disappeared.

"Nolan!" I yelled, running my fingers through my hair in a panic. People were looking at me like I was insane. Some seemed to be looking for Nolan. Once I felt like the area had been scanned good enough, I took off to his house. It was a nice little walk to get there, but I ran fast and it only took a few minutes to find it. I looked around his yard for him. No sign of Nolan. I walked over to the little garden he had. The little area was full of exotic plants most of which seemed animal-like. I yelled his name again. Where on earth could that boy be?_ Nolan, please answer me._

I turned to his big house, and knocked on the door. No answer. I tried to open it; unfortunately, it was locked. I sat down with my back against the door. It was unbearably cold. I was freezing, and my light clothing didn't give me much protection from the wind. I pulled my knees up to my chest in an effort to keep warm. I wouldn't leave until he came back. There was no way I could begin to think about what Ambrose wanted until I talked to Nolan. I hate when people were mad at me._ If you can hear me, I'm so sorry. Please come back._

"What do you want, Richardson?" Nolan's voice came from the end of the sidewalk. My head jerked up to look at him. His eyes were all red, and his face was as puffy as I imagined mine to be. But I noticed the venom in his voice. He was back to being the Nolan I met on the first day.

"I want you to stay."

"I'm not the one going anywhere. I told you not to include me in any of your battle plans."

"No, I mean stay with me." I stood up. He crossed his arms, and cocked his head. His dark hair fell in his face.

"I want to be done with this, Kymma."

"With this or with us?" I choked out. He looked at the ground and didn't answer. I felt my heart stop as he walked closer to me, his head fixated on the ground.

"With us." He whispered as he looked me dead in the eye. He was so close to me I could see the color in his eyes, and the little flecks of gray and silver that inhabited them as of recently. His hair was messy and unfixed. It was like he hadn't bothered to do anything this morning, but then again, he was probably thinking the same thing of me. I could see the tears build up in his eyes. Mine had already spilled over. I had gained enough control to not be shaking and gasping for air, but I was still bawling. Nolan didn't want me anymore.

"I'm in love with you." I whispered. The words felt strange and foreign on my lips. He blinked in surprise at me, but said nothing. I hoped he was too shocked to speak. "I told Malorn no. I chased you." I could feel my legs getting weaker and weaker by the second. I shook my head. "It doesn't even matter anymore."

He grabbed my wrist as I started away from him. I sighed and turned around. He practically dragged me into the house by my wrist. I blinked as I realized we were in the kitchen, the same place where I had kissed him no so long ago even though it felt like years before this moment. Tears was trudging their way down his cheeks. He grabbed me by the forearms and shook me.

"Why did you say that? Why would you try to tear me apart like that?" He was sobbing. I was in shock now. _What do I do? I didn't mean to make him cry!_

"Nolan, I love you." I said slowly, hoping he'd let go of my forearms, his grip was painful. He shook his head. "I'm in love with you."

He let go of my forearms and ran his fingers through his hair. "Congratulations, Richardson, you've officially broken me. Are you happy now? Why don't you and Ashthorn go have a laugh over this whole ordeal. He must think it's hilarious."

"Stop blocking me."

"No. I don't want you in my head." He had resorted to yelling at me.

I gritted my teeth. "Nolan Stormgate, stop blocking me right now." He sighed and complied. It was horrible. All I felt was pain and suffering and confusion. It was like getting hit in the face by a baseball. I was so close to breaking down from both of our emotions. I tried to force my good feelings toward him: the love, the memories of the kiss, of watching him sleep, and even when I saw him change at my house. I shared it all with him, watching his face as he relived and felt every memory the way I did. He bent over from the rush of emotions. He rested his hands on his knees, causing his hood to fall in his face a little. He looked so vulnerable, in a way I had never seen him.

For once, I had seen Nolan without all of his smartass defense mechanisms up.

He stuttered. "But you and Malorn w-went so far…" He looked into my eyes. I shook my head and placed my hand on his cheek. He leaned back up, standing about five inches taller than me as usual.

"No, I just meant for it to be a kiss, but he got all carried away. I told him no, but…"

His eyes blazed. "But what? He didn't stop?" I placed my hand on his chest and shook my head. "I'll kill that son of a-"

"It's alright. It's ok. He got carried away." He stared down at me. I smiled a little and wiped the tear away from his eye. He smiled a little. "I love you, Nolan."

He pulled me closer to him. "I'm sorry about causing all this. I should have just talked to you. I over reacted." I shook my head but he held his finger up to my mouth and shook his head. "No, I did. I hurt you, and I'm sorry." I couldn't even find words to say at this point so I just pulled his head down to mine and kissed him. It wasn't like the other morning. It wasn't rushed, and hard, but it was soft and romantic. He pulled away from me a little and wrapped his arms around my waist. "You're so beautiful, Kym."

I laughed, and he smiled. "Why are your eyes gray?" He blinked for a second and sighed.

"When wizards are sad or depressed or generally screwed up, their eyes get gray. The more gray the stronger the emotion." I recalled how Malorn's had been slightly gray, but Nolan's had practically been cover with gray specs. I smiled sadly at him. He gave me a half smile.

"What do we do now?"

"Well," He grinned, "I said we couldn't kiss like that until after you decided, and you've decided, right?"

I grinned back. "I want you, and only you, forever, Nolan Stormgate." He wrapped his fingers in my hair and traced my jaw with his free hand.

He shook his head gently. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that, Kymma Richardson." I smiled as he leaned down to kiss me.

"Wait." He blinked in confusion. I yanked his hood off, which also pulled the cloak off of him. He rolled his eyes at me. I simply laughed. "I like you hair."

"Obviously." I grinned as his lips pressed softly against mine. My arms wrapped around his neck. He pulled me against him tighter. It was too easy to get carried away with him. I had been stressed, careful, and worried for far too long. The weird effect my change in emotions had on me left my knees all weak. I could barely stand up. He simply laughed at me and propped me up against the counter. The air got cold again, I could hear the window behind me freezing and saw his eyes widen. He squeaked and broke our kiss. "What is that?"

"Me." I whispered, and pulled him back against me. It was odd to practically feel him collapse against me.

"You found your power."

"I guess one good thing came from you ignoring me." I laughed gently, he pulled my chin to face him. "I was trying to talk to you last night and I kinda had a breakdown. Then everything went cold and the windows frosted over. That's why I was in Ambrose's office." I paused. "Did Boris not tell you that?"

"He tried… I didn't want to talk about you." He frowned. "I didn't know what to say last night. I didn't want to answer you and let you feel everything I felt."

"You heard me then?" He nodded at me, but avoided my gaze. "Well, I must look like a total idiot now." I laughed nervously.

"No, I was being a bitch." He looked down at me and smiled. He leaned down to kiss me and—

Boris burst throw the front door.

"Guys—Wizard City—under attack—earth—Now!"

**Fixed the italics! And thanks for the nice reviews! You guys made my day!**

**Review cause this chapter took forrreevvverrrrrr**


	11. Villian?

**Who wants to make a little villian? :D :D**

**Name: (keep it a little realistic)**

**Class:**

**Clothing:**

**Personality:**

**Etc:**


	12. Prisoner of War

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 10  
_Prisoner of War_

I jogged to the door as Nolan ran up the stairs to his room to get his battle gear. The sky had darkened to a burnt orange color, and the clouds had turned to silhouettes in the light. Boris was standing outside on the sidewalk, throwing lightning bolts from his yellow and purple staff. I watched as he fought the giant, two headed dog that stood at the end of the sidewalk. Nolan's footsteps echoed from the stairwell. He appeared beside me in his fighting gear.

"Stay inside." He said before rushing out to stand beside Boris. The strange dog howled up at the sky, and then both of its heads snapped down at the boys. Fear clenched my stomach as its jaws clenched together right beside Nolan's head. Boris smacked his staff on the ground, sending tiny tendrils of lightning across the ground at the beast. Nolan gave Boris a rather uneasy look and drew the sword he bought a few days prior. The lightning gave the beast pause, but nothing more. The dog stomped the ground, sending cracks across it. Nolan stabbed his sword into the ground and kneeled behind it. Boris, on the other hand, was sent flying backwards and landed at my feet at the door.

"Are you ok?" I asked quickly, he looked up at me from under his snow white hair and nodded. He used his staff to push him up. Nolan had stood back up from behind his sword and watched as Boris approached the battle. The Diviner's robe was ripped across his chest, where a cut seeped blood onto his purple robes. He looked at Nolan with a panicked look.

"I heal you," He whispered, "Finish him off." Boris nodded to him. He twirled his staff above his head in an intricate pattern, and slammed it against the ground. Lightning gathered above the dog's head, and struck it in the head. It whimpered, and fell over on its side. I watched as Nolan tapped his sword in the air and a strange blue and silver light trickled down on Boris. The cut on his chest healed almost instantly.

"A-Are you guys O-ok?" Malorn appeared at behind the dog, he leaned over on the fence to catch his breath. Nolan looked at him and nodded.

Nolan looked back at the dog. "A powerful Conjurer cast this, but how did they summon something without bringing a child from Earth?"

Boris shrugged, "Maybe that only happens to the Myths on our side." He shook his head. "I haven't seen anyone cast this that wasn't at least a master."

"There's Scarecrows and Wraiths running around here too. I saw a Snow Angel attack a few novices. We have to help everyone, they attacked our weakest place." Malorn looked back at the city, amongst the chaos one could pick out a few horses and strange pumpkin things. I watched as Malorn took off into the fray, Boris at his heels, and Nolan turned back to me.

"Stay inside."

"What? No." I laughed and started down the stairs to the sidewalk. "If they can run around and hurt Novices than what will stop them from getting inside the house?"

He stared in my eyes for a few minutes. "Stay close; you have no armor and no training." He turned and walked out of his yard. I kept close to him as he ducked between a few phoenixes and a large grim-reaper-like creature. There was a couple of Apprentices standing before a huge elephant in strange armor. It lashed out at them with a hooked sword. Nolan scanned the area. There was a group of kids that couldn't have been in Ravenwood for more than a few days battling a large fiery bird. Nolan looked between the two groups, and looked back at me with panic in his eyes.

"What do I do?"

I bit my lip, and pointed to the apprentices. "Help them," He nodded, motioned for me to stay put, and ran to the aid of the young wizards. I found myself headed for the three new kids against the fire bird. I wondered why things didn't attack me when I was standing so close, but as I stepped next to the kid on the end, I felt like I had crossed an invisible line. Like a boundary.

"Are you guys ok?" I asked quickly. The three kids looked at me and nodded.

The boy on the end opposite looked at me. "We've barely got our wands before these guys showed up."

The girl in the middle agreed with him: "Yeah, is this normal? Like is this a test to see if we're really our class?"

I sighed, "I have no idea what this is, but it's not a test. It's real. Can anyone cast anything?"

The boy beside me grinned as his silver hair fell into his face, "I can. I'm a balance."

"I can put shields on us…" The girl whispered, as if the bird could hear. Just as she finished her sentence, the bird reared back and, with a mighty caw, breathed fire out at us. It struck the boy on the end opposite me, and he hit the ground. I started toward him, but realized there was nothing I could do but keep the others alive.

What _are you doing? _Nolan's voice echoed in my head. I sighed and focused all of my energy on the bird. I raised my hands, hoping I could do something. The bird reared back again. I braced myself for the impact of the fire, and closed my eyes. The burn never came, and instead, I heard the kids beside me cheering. I blinked, and looked up to see Malorn holding his sword out at the bird, which now lay dead on the ground. I lowered my hands and sighed.

"Thanks." I muttered. He patted my shoulder.

"You need a wand; it takes a lot of practice to cast without one."

"_What _were you thinking? You could have gotten killed!" Nolan's sharp voice came from behind us. He was stomping toward our little group. He took his helmet off as he approached us, and tossed it aside on the ground. A few novices saw it and flocked to it in wonder. His eyes silted at me in anger. "What did I tell you?"

"to-"

"I told you to _stay put_. Not run over here and help a couple of new kids. You _can't _cast spells; you don't know how to. I was in the middle of a fight, and you just ran over here where I couldn't do anything to protect you. _What _were you _thinking_?" Nolan was furious. He sighed and grabbed my face in his hands. "I don't want to lose you."

"I didn't want them to get hurt." I whispered. He shook his head and pulled me closer to him for a hug.

"Thank you, Ashthorn." He whispered to Malorn, who was standing behind us with the unconscious boy.

"She's my friend." He said as Nolan let go of me. "This kid needs Wu."

"I can take hi-"

"No, Nolan." Malorn sighed, gathering the boy in his arms. "Most of these are Death, I can't kill them."

"Guys!" Boris jogged up to us. A boy with fair skin, soft purple eyes and messy sandy hair was walking beside him with a gate that matched Boris's. He smiled at us, and jumped a little as an elephant creature stomped beside us.

"Boris!" Malorn laughed, "Stephen! Everyone's here!"

"Most of the summons have been killed, thanks to Stephen here, but I haven't seen anyone one here that's a high enough level to cast all these." Boris looked around, tapping his staff on the ground impatiently. Stephen walked over to the boy Malorn was holding and whispered something I couldn't hear. The boy gasped and blinked back to consciousness.

"Thank you," The boy breathed quickly. The sandy hair boy smiled and nodded to him. I looked around. Wizard City looked destroyed. The library had smoke billowing out of it, the bridge over the stream that fed the lake was broken, the statue in the middle of the little lake had been broken in several places, and the headmaster's house had been severely damaged. Witches and wizards of all ages slowly poured out of the different places they had been hiding. People in green robes were running around healing the random people who lay passed out on the grass.

"Who would do this?" I asked in a whisper. Everyone looked so frightened; even Ambrose and the other professors who were trying to calm everyone else down looked nervous. Nolan grabbed my hand, but he said nothing. We all stood in silence, watching the apprentices and novices watch us. I knew they were wondering what happened, and to be honest, so was I.

A scream split the air.

Ryan tumbled out of Unicorn Way with a girl about our age yelling furiously at her. Ryan jumped out of the way as a fireball flew past her head. The girl glared at her, blue eyes set a flame with anger. She threw her hand up, and fire erupted from it. Ryan dodged this fire too, and tackled the girl. Nolan and Malorn ran to help Ryan wrestle the girl.

The girl had a heavy, almost Transylvanian, accent: "Unhand me you pathetic-"

"Shut up." Ryan rolled her eyes at the girl. Ambrose hurried over to them, whispered something, and then motioned for Boris, Stephen, and I to follow them to his office.

* * *

Ambrose's office was dark. Boris, Nolan, and Malorn had tied the girl to a chair. Her head hung, covered by a red hood that hid everything but the end of her black hair. Her red tunic was wet from sweat and tears of her escape attempts. The fingerless—you guessed it, red—gloves had been soaked in water by Boris, who swore it would keep her from shooting fire at whoever was watching her. The sound of her black drake tattooed dragonscale boots tapping on the hardwood floor still echoed throughout the room.

I had volunteered to watch her with Nolan, mostly so he could sleep. He had refused the bed I was sitting on and slept on the floor in the corner of the room. It was cold in here, which was my attempt to keep the girl from burning the entire room down. He had taken most of his armor off, probably because it was so uncomfortable. I smiled, he had worn the t-shirt I found at my house for him underneath his armor. The girl stirred.

I sighed, grabbed the covers off of the bed I was on, and walked over to Nolan. It was about to get brutally cold, and he seriously needed to stay warm. I shook him gently.

"Hey, Nolan?"

"Err-w…whaa?" He mumbled half-opening one eye to look at me. I pulled at his arm.

"Come on," He groaned and pushed himself off the floor. I helped him over to the bed and covered him up with the blanket.

"I… I told you to…to take the bed…" He fretted. I smiled and smoothed his hair down.

"It's going to get cold. Go to sleep." I whispered, he blinked up at me through his dazzling blue eyes. He looked so much like a little kid when he was sleepy. He lifted his hand up to my face, and traced my jaw line.

"Are you sure you don't need," He yawned, "sleep?"

I nodded and smiled at him, "Yeah, it doesn't take a lot of energy to keep this place below freezing."

As if alerted by the temperature, he pulled the blanket closer to him. "She awake?"

"No, she passed out after you did." I laughed, playing with the buttons on my shirt.

He held his arm out. "Sleep."

"I can't; I have to watch her Nolan."

"No," He whined. "You need to sleep, I'll watch her."

"Nolan," I laughed, "What is five plus two?"

"Twenty-four?"

"Go to sleep." He smiled at me, and then close his eyes. It literally took about five minutes for him to fall asleep. I smooth his hair down. A noise from the middle of the room made me look up. The girl was staring at me, her ash black hair partially falling into her eyes as she grinned.

"Look at the two love birds." Her accent made some of her words a little hard to understand. Her wide grin was too much on her small face, and it made her look impossibly creepy. I stood up beside the bed.

"Who are you?"

She laughed. "Do you people only know three questions to ask? Come on, you've been asking the same thing for _hours_." She sighed dramatically. "No 'hello, how's your day?' or 'how have you been?' or maybe even a 'you've been tied up for a while, would you like a beverage? Food?'"

I glared at her. "I don't offer drinks to people who destroyed our city."

She raised an eyebrow, "You think I did all that," she nodded to the entrance of Ambrose's office, "single handed?" She let out a maniacal laugh. I let the room temperature drop about ten degrees. She shivered, but her smirk held strong. I walked over to her, pushed her hood off so she couldn't hide behind it, and grabbed her forearms.

"Who are you working with?"

She grinned. I sunk my finger nails into her skin. Pain only showed in her eyes, and she covered that quickly. "I am working with the best wizards in the Spiral."

"What are their names?"

She laughed, "I'm not going to tell you." I sunk my nails farther into her skin. "But, I will tell you that I will get out of this chair, and when I do, I will kill him and I will make you watch every. Last. Second." I smacked her across the face. She laughed again and just leaned back comfortably in her chair. "You don't understand, do you? They will come for me, and when they do I will find all of you, and I will kill each of you slowly, and I'll save you for last."

**Wonderfullllll job on ****the OCs you guys. NightSkyWolves's character is the one I picked, she fit best into the story and was perfectly written, so I loved her. I might grab another one of the OCs from you guys, it just depends on what I need. Well, review and review! It's what keeps me writing this!**


	13. Playing With Fire

**Beautifully Dark Places  
**Chapter 11  
_Playing with Fire_

I watched as Boris and Malorn argued quietly in the corner. It was nearly lunch time, and they had been interrogating her since six that morning. They were getting nowhere, and Malorn was getting anxious. He wanted to try a more… forceful approach to getting her to talk. Boris disagreed with him, saying that if we hurt her than we were no better than them. I was unsure which of them I agreed with. The girl was sitting in her chair, with her hair covering everything on her face but her smirk.

"What's your name?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. She glanced up at me and laughed.

"The little lovebird wants to know my _name_?" She tossed her shoulder-length black hair to the side. "Genevieve. Genevieve Silverthorn." She stared straight at me, unblinking. It was as if she was waiting for me to jump up and say 'Ah-ha! It's her!' but I had no idea who she was. Meanwhile, Boris and Malorn had quieted in the corner. Nolan pulled me backwards, away from Genevieve.

"What's wrong, boys?" She grinned at them, and her hands—still bound to the chair at her wrists—turned to fists.

"Stay away from her." Nolan whispered, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Malorn," Boris said, watching as Genevieve struggled to get her hands free. "You win." Malorn smiled, tapped his staff on the ground, and a tendril of black smoke rose from the end of his staff and into the air. It wound its way toward Genevieve. Surprisingly, she didn't shriek in fear or continue to try to claw her way out of the chair. The smoke poked her arm, leaving a burned mark.

"_Oh_," Genevieve laughed, looking straight into Malorn's eyes, "so, this is how you treat an old friend, huh?"

"We were never friends."

"You right," She nodded, watching the smoke poke her other arm, "we were _best _friends."

"You were _friends_ with her?" Boris's voice rose from the corner he was still standing in. Malorn glanced over his shoulder at him.

He sighed. "It was a long time ago, Boris. Things changed. _She _changed."

Genevieve smirked at Boris's reactions. "What's wrong? Did Malorn not tell you _all _how he was friends with a wanted witch?"

"You shut up." Malorn hissed, the smoke smacking her in the face. She turned from the impact of the hit, but then looked back at him, her jaw line burned from the smoke.

"Malorn here should have told you everything. Like how he—or we, I should say—played a prank on Sylvia Drake during winter, and she got lost. That's how she got sick, and that sickness is what killed her."

"Malorn…" Boris turned back to the boy in back, who was staring at the ground, "Say she's lying."

"Please tell me this isn't true." Nolan whispered to his friend. Malorn answered neither of them.

"He should have also told you that he knew who Nolan's real father was—" Nolan's head snapped up to look at him. Tears filled the edges of his eyes.

Malorn stopped Genevieve where she was. "Don't say another word," he held his staff up at her, "or I will finish you." Boris knocked the staff out of his hands and wrestled him to the ground. Nolan dragged another chair into the room, and Boris lifted Malorn into it and tied him up just like Genevieve. Malorn shook his head at his two friends and argued about how it was a long time ago and he was no longer friends with the girl.

"He knew who your father was Nolan." The girl grinned at Malorn. "He knew the whole time, and even told me. He was a lot of your problem in school. He was the reason you got made fun of, and honestly, I don't know how you haven't figured that out."

"No, I swear Nolan—"

"Shut up." Nolan waved his hand at him for silence.

Genevieve smiled up at Nolan. "All those years of being picked on—tortured really—could have been stopped by the very person you called your friend." Nolan stepped away from her and paced beside the front door. Boris moved closer to Malorn and Genevieve. "Ah, Boris Tallstaff, how long has it been? Five years?"

"More than that," He sighed, leaning on his staff as he watched Genevieve. His white hair fell awkwardly from the side of his head from the incline he was at.

"I've missed you," She smiled wickedly; I began to wonder if the blood red lipstick she was wearing was laced with snake venom. That was the only other insane thing I could think of her doing to hurt the boys.

"I missed who you used to be; when we were little." Boris shook his head, "After we turned ten and started wizard training you went insane."

"I'm not insane." She stated simply. "I just learned to look out for me and to get what I wanted however I had to."

"Wait," I interjected in their conversation. "Boris, you just chewed Malorn out for being friends with her, but you were friends with her. So what's going on?"

Genevieve sighed. "I hate when people stick their noses in my business." Boris and Malorn exchanged confused looks.

"Malorn, why are you tied up?" Boris asked in confusion.

"…Wha…" Malorn blinked sleepily. Nolan looked between both of them in bewilderment.

And then it hit me.

"She's charming them."

"What?" Nolan looked up at me and shook his head, black hair swishing. "She's a pyromancer; she can't charm."

"I'm from Dragonspyre, sweetheart." Genevieve smirked, her red lips contrasting deeply from her pale face and green eyes, "Dragonspyre women have excessive charm."

"You're insane." I shot at her. She simply shrugged.

"Want to see me charm your little lover boy here?"

I smacked her across the face. If anyone was going to get answers out of her, it would be me. Her black hair flew around her from in force of my hand. She hissed at me, as if she were a snake or a pissed off vampire.

"See, here's where you screwed up, Genevieve. First, you came to Wizard City and hurt kids who haven't even been enrolled into their classes yet. Second, you messed with Nolan. Third, you messed with my friends." I leaned in closer to her, eyes narrowed and fingers clamped around the knife I had stuck in my belt earlier this morning, and continued my list of things she had done wrong: "and fourth, you messed with me."

She pushed herself as far out of the chair as she could, hands still bound to the old maple armrests, and actually attempted to bite me. I pulled the knife out and sliced a gash on her cheek. Stunned, she fell back into the chair and blinked at me. I placed my hands on top of hers, letting my rage flow through my fingers until she cried out from the cold. I leaned back. Her hands were frozen to the hair, in what was almost two solid blocks of ice. The gash on her cheek flowed quickly, even though it wasn't very deep, and had begun to stain the red tunic she was wearing even darker.

"Malorn and Boris wanted to play the easy way." I hissed at her as she tried to melt the ice on her hands with her pyromancer powers, "I play the hard way."


End file.
